Liberals tend to assume white opposition to government assistance programs is driven by the belief that it mainly benefits minorities. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman repeated the notion on Friday, writing that opponents of a strong safety net "tap into racial resentment, convincing white voters that new programs will only benefit Those People."
Confirming that assumption has proven tricky, leading some scholars to question its validity. But a new study presents evidence of this racially charged reasoning, which is triggered by reminders that minorities are making up an increasing percentage of the population.
Reminders of that demographic reality provoke fears of lowered social status, increase racial resentment, and spur whites "to oppose programs they perceive as primarily benefiting social minorities," said senior author Robb Willer, a professor of sociology and social psychology at Stanford University.
[For more on this story by TOM JACOBS, go to https://psmag.com/social-justi...pposition-to-welfare]
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