There has been a lot of talk recently about discrimination, such as with gay people in Oklahoma and the ever-present talk about black people. I've noticed something I call the Invisible Hand Job. No offense is intended toward Adam Smith, who was a subtler thinker than most of those who invoke them.
Let's say that there are some new kids in town. Nobody really hates them, per se. There's no serious bigotry against them. They're just a little bit different, that's all. They have a hard time fitting in. They could be black or Mexican or Irish or have tattoos or have unusual sexual practices or like comic books or be a particular sex or gender. Something minor, of a minority.
There's freedom of association, and some people are reluctant to associate with them. They may even come to put up signs asking them to stay away. Well, no biggie, right? There are always other places they can go, and the Invisible Hand will work things out. Discriminatory businesses, housing, etc. will suffer and tend to go out of business. There's no need for legislation. They can still eat and drink and find places to live. They might even be pretty nice.
Over time, these people, whoever they are, will tend to go where they are welcome and not where they aren't. They'll form bohemian neighborhoods, kicky little clubs. These might even be really cool, and this will attract some people who aren't of the minority, because it's cool to go there. To "slum," as people put it. The minority won't keep the majority out. They couldn't do so if they tried, and they need the business. There will be higher tolerance of differences in those areas, clubs, etc. They might even become trendy, and people will say, "Oh, isn't that wonderful. They aren't hurting at all."
Then, some other people will notice. Criminals, say. They know that they will get on better where there is high tolerance, which means tolerance for them. They might be of the minority, but then again, they might not. Crime will go up in those places.
Again, no biggie. There will be more police presence there. Assume all the cops are good and honest, and they just want to do good. But they will associate crime with those places and those people. The majority, who live and socialize elsewhere, will see the names and faces on whatever they use instead of newspapers these days. Over and over again, they will come to associate those people with crime.
Crime rates will go up, there. The crime may be low or no different from anywhere else, but simply because there are more cops there, there will be more citations and arrests. After a time, real crime might even go up, as the longer one's record, the harder it is to find a job. Freedom of association again. Or it might even continue to be illusory. It will be hard to tell, as the cops already know that this is where you find crime.
The cycle goes on. No, to be sure, it's not about those people. It's about criminals, and just look at the statistics. It's not bigotry, of course. It's simply realistic.
We're not racist, or sexist, or whateverist. We're just looking at the facts.
So it goes.
It is, of course, fun to come up with elaborate reasons for discrimination, bigotry, and oppression. It is also a great deal of fun to blame people. Still, I find this idea intriguing, as it can explain what we see without resort to the assumption of evil intent of people. Only a small perception of weirdness can escalate to overt bigotry and oppression by the motion of the Invisible Hand Job. It is not necessary to call people names (though this can be fun as well). Simple free market forces can make this happen. It is hard to see what natural factor would prevent it.
Those with more elaborate explanations may be right, and even if not completely right, have some good ideas. Still, I find elementary explanations interesting. They provide a nice null hypothesis that other ideas can use as a starting point.
This, I think, is the reason for anti-discrimination laws. They are usually instituted only way after the fact, when discrimination is overt and requires the establishment of a "protected class." They can, however, prevent the cascade and positive feedback loop from starting in the first place. The time to implement them is before things get to the point of overt racism etc. to prevent the social problems that inexorably come later. Few people other than real-estate speculators and undertakers, I think, want to see riots and theft and burning buildings, though many will find a moral justification after the fact.
To me, this is cold comfort and very small beer.
