Resisting Complicity

Abstract

This chapter explores the need for strivers to think about their potential complicity within the social structures that make it hard for others who are disadvantaged to succeed. It argues that strivers are in a unique position to improve those social structures because of the skills and knowledge they acquire on the path upward. The field of philosophy tends to attract those who already have a privileged position in society. Consequently, much of the philosophical dialogue concerning justice centers around work written by White, privileged men, even though this is the population that has the least to lose by maintaining the status quo. The intellectual and creative energy that will drive social change will come from those who have the most to gain from the system changing.