Cambridge University Press Faded Dreams: The Politics and Economics of Race in America

Faded Dreams paints a new and challenging picture of why racial inequality changes in America. The author argues that blacks caught up with whites mainly when government policies, under political pressure by blacks and an important segment of the white community, pushed for greater racial equality. Similarly, the greatest obstacles to black gains in other periods have also been government policies. These policies usually assumed away the race problem or used it against blacks for political purposes. Faded Dreams shows that three dominant views of economic differences between blacks and whites - that blacks are individually responsible for not taking advantage of market opportunities, that the world economy has changed in ways that puts blacks at a tremendous disadvantage compared to whites, and that pervasive racism is holding blacks down - do not adequately explain why blacks made such large gains in the past and stopped making them in the 1980s and 1990s. Review "This is a straightforward, informative, clearheaded, and useful book....Generalists will learn a lot from this book; specialists will learn some; and anyone interested in the politics and economics of race will do well to read it." The Annals of the American Academy"With persuasiveness and passion, Martin Carnoy demonstrates that government must be the key actor in solving America's racial dilemma." Nicholas Lemann, author of the The Promised Land"Faded Dreams details specific and compelling evidence about patterns of racially based economic injustice, and explains why it persists in America. Professor Carnoy makes a solid case that the government must intervene more to resolve these problems." Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (1st Congressional District, Michigan)"Faded Dreams is the most important book on race and the economy in quite a few years....Carnoy's reminder of the power of political intervention sounds a bracing wake-up call in this era of poltical cynicism." Chris Tilly, American Journal of Sociology Book Description Faded Dreams paints a new and challenging picture of why racial inequality changes in America. From the Back Cover Faded Dreams paints a new picture of why racial inequality changes in America - one that challenges existing explanations by putting politics at center stage. The author argues that blacks began to catch up economically with whites mainly when government policy makers, under political pressure by blacks and backed by an important segment of the white community, pushed for greater economic equality. Similarly, the greatest obstacles to black gains in other periods have been government policies. Policy makers usually assumed away the race problem or used it against blacks and whites for political purposes, legitimating existing inequality and often making it worse. Through a systematic analysis of fifty years of data on income, education, and the kinds of jobs blacks and whites hold, Faded Dreams makes a powerful case that it takes active government to undo wage and job discrimination and to improve the education and living conditions of disadvantaged black youth.