Prof. Walter Block has recently got himself into some trouble over some "offensive" remarks he made at Loyola College in Maryland. Prof. Block dared to claim that women and blacks earn lower wages because they tend, on average, to have a lower marginal productivity.
This is the same explanation put forth by our very own Taylor Somers in the last issue of The Observer. And, of course, Prof. Block got the same treatment as Mr. Somers. It is not politically correct to assert that these groups do not face systematic discrimination, but could really just be less productive. As Prof. Block says: "After all, if black people had the same productivity as white people on average, but were paid less, then there would be profit opportunities available to all those who hired blacks and fired whites, and such a situation could never last." The same holds true for women.
How are we supposed to address these problems - if that is even desirable - when politically incorrect explanations are rejected without discussion? Alas, we seem to be haunted by this ill-defined specter we call "inequality" or "discrimination." No one can see it, but it is still there. If you reject its existence, then you are a racist or bigot or some other epithet. Until we redefine the acceptable parameters of debate, I suppose we will never truly address these issues.
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