The myth of meritocracy in the era of Black Lives Matter
/0 Comments/in Essays by Institute Scholars /by cbarreraInequality is so often misunderstood as an outgrowth of cultural deficiency. But contrary to popular belief (which pervades the right, left and centre of the political spectrum), we do not live under a meritocracy. Inequality is not the result of the superior or inferior work ethics of a society’s inhabitants.
Op-Ed: A better way to solve the housing crisis — tax land, not development
/0 Comments/in Essays by Institute Scholars /by cbarreraTo address Los Angeles’ housing crisis, Mayor Eric Garcetti has proposed a “linkage fee” on new development. The city would charge new residential developments of more than five units $12 a square foot, and new commercial developments $5 a square foot, to finance subsidized affordable housing.
Jeff Chang Interview: Don’t Mourn, Organize. Don’t Despair, Create.
/in Essays by Institute Scholars /by cbarreraResearch and Resistance: Reflections since the J18 events
/in Essays by Institute Scholars /by cbarreraDivesting from Whiteness: The University in the Age of Trumpism
/0 Comments/in Decolonizing the University, Essays by Institute Scholars, In the News, Race & Capitalism /by cbarreraMy pinned tweet says that I will neither participate in nor condone the normalization of Trumpism. I might have to keep it posted for the full four years of the (first) Trump presidency. After all, the normalization of the Trump regime is fully underway, from calls for a peaceful transition of power to those for unity and healing across electoral allegiances. President Obama described the election as an “intramural scrimmage” insisting that “we’re Americans.”
After Trump
/0 Comments/in Essays by Institute Scholars, In the News, Race & Capitalism /by cbarreraDonald J. Trump’s election was a national trauma, an epic catastrophe that has left millions in the United States and around the world in a state of utter shock, uncertainty, deep depression, and genuine fear. The fear is palpable and justified, especially for those Trump and his acolytes targeted—the undocumented, Muslims, anyone who “looks” undocumented or Muslim, people of color, Jews, the LGBTQ community, the disabled, women, activists of all kinds (especially Black Lives Matter and allied movements resisting state-sanctioned violence), trade unions. . . the list is long. And the attacks have begun; as I write these words, reports of hate crimes and racist violence are flooding my in box.
