Public and Private
(Vera Speaking)

 
 
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Like others in the broad tradition of liberalism, you insist on a fundamental distinction between the public sector (meaning acts of government) and the private sector (meaning acts of individuals not representing governments). But if you continue to conceptualize social problems like racism or sexism in those terms, you will never be able to eliminate the problems.

Private acts can foster racism in any number of ways. We have recognized this in our law by prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of race. Traditional liberalism cannot accept that interference with the so-called private sector; but most of us recognized that it was necessary.

My point is that this is only the beginning of a solution. We have to look at how the old distinctions like public and private create and foster hierarchy throughout society. If we want to eliminate those hierarchies, we have to reconceptualize social life without those distinctions.

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