With all of the debate over Rand Paul’s Libertarian view that things such as the Civil Rights Act were not necessary steps for a Constitutional Republic to take in order to ensure no tyranny of the majority, one of the views of those in favor of such a stance is that actions taken by government to protect certain classes of people are unnecessary because eventually society would realize that such prejudices run counter to productivity. In their mind, the playing fields would eventually become level without interferance from the courts or legislators.
Is there evidence for this view? Are there societies or regions - ideally contemporary ones - where sweeping change in race relations, gender equality, or any other class equality came about without the guidance of a government whose hands were forced?
My personal feeling on the matter is that the South would still have ‘Whites Only’ signs now if changes were not mandated during the Civil Rights Era. The way I see it, the Civil Rights Act came about almost exactly a century after the Emancipation Proclamation. My perception is that in those 100 years, things didn’t change a whole lot, whereas in about half the time since then, the difference is staggering.
Even when the courts did make a decisive, landmark ruling, puplic opinion often lagged behind. The images of the immediate aftermath of forced school integration are obvious but it took nearly a quarter of a century after Loving v. Virginia before Gallup polls shows that a majority of Americans supported interracial marriage. Yes, it wasn’t until the fucking '90s that this happened, which blows my mind.
Of course, there is a difference between slow change and no change. Would schools ever been integrated if there never was a Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, just a lot more slowly? There are only a few states who allow same gender couples the right of marriage and no real prospect of a landmark action from the court or Congress to change things, yet every year, more and more people poll that they’re not against it or they at least agree that civil unions are not a horrible compromise.
I am generally positive with how I view mankind but I cannot help but be cynical that most societies would be able to make these changes even though they are not just fair, but beneficial to the societies in tangible, proven ways.
To use a phrase from the Civil Rights Era, could we overcome without help?