Blog Post #2: Privilege, Power and Difference

Privilege, Power and Difference
Allan G. Johnson  

Three Talking Points

1. In order to implement true social change in the world, people must transform how they act and think in order to actively participate in the world, understand the profound dynamics of privilege, power and difference, and commit to making social change. 

2. There are two types of privilege mentioned. The first is based on "unearned entitlements" and the other is referred to as "conferred dominance." An "unearned entitlement" refers to simple privileges that all people should have such as safety and security or feelings of belonging and inherent value. When these entitlements are restricted to certain social groups and taken away from others, this privilege becomes an "unearned advantage." On the other hand, "conferred dominance" occurs when one social group is granted power over another group. This can pertain to gender, racial, cultural, or socioeconomic dominance. In this case, human differences lead to privileges and create power struggles. Belonging to a privileged group or category that has an oppressive relationship to another social group is not the same as being an oppressive person who behaves in unjust ways. 

3. For every social circle or group that is privileged, one or more other social groups are oppressed simultaneously. Privilege and oppression, while opposites to one another, and directly correlated.  

Argument Statement 

Author Allan G. Johnson argues that privilege is derived from human differences. The existence of privilege leads to an uneven and unjust distribution of power and ultimately results in oppression of social categories and groups.