Oppression and Privilege

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Oppression and Privilege
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Oppression

• Birdcage analogy
• Criteria of oppression
• physical or psychological harm
• harm consequent on social group membership
• some group benefits
• coercion or force

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Coercion

• Prima facie immoral to coerce someone
• One is coerced if faced with bad choices or worse
  choices than others similarly placed, except for
  social group status, in the society
• Social institutions can be coercive

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Oppression as violation of freedom

• Positive freedom since oppression usually
  involves significant disadvantages, which cause
  poverty and deprivation
• Negative freedom since oppression is often
  manifested as a coercive interference with
  peoples rights to choose

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MacIntosh, White Privilege and Male Privilege

• Privileged as unearned assets or advantages
• Privilege as bad for the privileged (as well as
  the oppressed)
• Invisibility of privilege