
Glenn Loury | Economics, Race and Racial Discrimination
July 28
For this weekās episode of Keeping it Civil, Josh and Henry sit down with Glenn Loury, a professor of economics at Brown University.
The group discusses ways that racial inequality persists in society and how economics can solve social issues.
āI think economics is the queen of the social sciences.ā Loury says. āI think economics is by far, the disciplinary outlook for the investigation of social processes, and itās not only restricted to buying and selling and prices and so on.ā
Glenn Loury speaks about how his views have changed and adapted over time. Included here are some of his answers to questions about race and racial discrimination in America, including perceptions of racial bias in policing.
āWe donāt have to racialize our discussion of police violence against citizens. And I would rather that we didnātā he said, āAnd one reason Iād rather that we didnāt is because when we racialize that discussion, we invite a reaction that is also racialized, we invite a perception of criminal violence in the country to be played out in racial terms.ā
Loury also speaks about how he has āsouredā on his view of affirmative action in academia.
āIf you end up in a position where youāre permanently relying on affirmative action in order to secure the presence of African-Americans in adequate numbers, that doesnāt lead to equality.ā He goes on to say, āIf we think the solution to the problem is affirmative action, weāre making a mistake.ā
Listen to Josh and Henry discuss timely topics with Glenn Loury, including his life and intellectual journey to becoming an academic economist, in this weekās latest episode.