Personal Privilege Analysis: A Critical Chapter-by-Chapter Review

Individualism and the Concept of Privilege

This chapter introduces the concept of individualism and how it relates to privilege. The author argues that our society's individualistic worldview ascribes blame or guilt to somebody for everything that happens, which makes it easy for people to take offense at discussions of privilege. He attempts to draw connections between the individual and the system in which the individual exists, and to relate these to the concept of privilege.

Two key points emerge: first, that people are often guided toward the path of least resistance, and second, that we are all involved in privilege and oppression. I disagree with the first point because it is a base assumption the author never adequately supports. Many people fail to recognize the path of least resistance at all, and some actively choose to avoid it. The author actually provides examples of this within the chapter itself — the restaurant sit-in students being one. The second point is more compelling. The author is probably right, but he undermines his argument with additional unsubstantiated assumptions. If privilege and oppression are societal, then all of society is involved, regardless of the role any individual plays.

Interestingly, my own life experiences highlight examples that challenge the author's logic. To suggest that managers hire those like themselves — and that this necessarily means white — is the perspective of someone who has never lived or worked in a genuinely multicultural society. These examples seem ill-chosen because, while the author assumes them to be universal, they do not apply to the experience of someone who has moved beyond a homogeneous environment.

This raises a central question about the chapter. The author argues that individualism plays a significant role in society's fostering of privilege and oppression. Why, then, are privilege and oppression just as prevalent in Asia's collectivist societies? Cambodians and Vietnamese, Vietnamese and Chinese, Chinese and Japanese — ethnic resentments and hierarchies run deep across all of these relationships. Korean and Japanese societies are demonstrably characterized by rigid gender hierarchies. The author owes an explanation for why privilege exists in collectivist societies to the same degree it exists in individualist ones, since his entire framework depends on individualism as the root cause.

How Systems of Privilege Are Reinforced

This chapter discusses how systems of privilege work. The author makes ample use of anecdotes to illustrate the ways in which society reinforces the privilege it has ascribed to its members. This includes the way each member of society identifies with his or her status regarding privilege — he argues that we generally take the path of least resistance. Even when not actively engaging in oppression, we often tolerate it.

One example he offers is particularly striking: "If a small group of white citizens marches on Washington to protest a policy that had nothing to do with race, news reports wouldn't mention their race and certainly wouldn't try to figure out why the group was all white." This observation intersects meaningfully with the Tea Party and Occupy movement news coverage dynamic. The Tea Party received comparatively little criticism for its protests, and few commentators noted the overwhelmingly white composition of its crowds. The Occupy movement was subjected to far greater media scrutiny — even though it too was predominantly white. While the author is making a point about race-based privilege, this example also illustrates how class-based privilege operates. Older, wealthier participants are rarely asked to justify their motives, while younger, middle-class and poor participants face both media dismissiveness and, in some cases, police brutality.

Another notable point from this chapter concerns just how deeply entrenched the reinforcement of privilege is across society. The author catalogs an extensive range of examples — the language we use, our media, our entertainment — touching on virtually every facet of daily life. Examining familiar things through the lens of privilege analysis yields genuinely unsettling results.

The ample use of real-life examples in this chapter is clearly intended to foster personal connection, and there were several that succeeded. I had not previously considered all the subtle ways that privilege is reinforced in everyday life.

A question I would raise, however, concerns the emphasis on subtler aspects of privilege reinforcement. If we focus on small things — debating whether it is acceptable to use the word "queer," or whether the author is entitled to criticize another scholar's work — do we risk losing sight of the bigger picture? It may be more productive to direct attention to structural issues rather than to minor word choices, even if those choices do make a marginal contribution to oppression.