Privilege, Power, and Difference by Allan G. Johnson

Privilege, Power, and Difference Reviews

• 
  Kristin

  Somehow books I need to read have a way of randomly appearing in my life. I found out about Privilege, Power, and Difference from a church visitor and, thanks to the awesome San Francisco Library interlibrary loan service, started reading it as a summer project. While this book is denser and less readable than
  Tim Wise’s book White Like Me about white privilege, Allan Johnson’s theories provide an excellent foundation for thinking about all types of privilege (the flip side of oppression.) He describes how systems of oppression based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and disability status are prevalent in our society and the damage these systems cause. Johnson emphasizes that the American focus on individualism makes it harder to see and understand the dynamic between individuals and social systems. He explains why and how we deny the power of systems of privilege, why this trouble is everyone’s problem, and how we can work toward a more equal society by speaking out against oppression and promoting alternatives to the path of least resistance. I learned a lot from this book and strongly recommend it.
• 
  Meen

  Fairly early in my recovery I began to process my own racism, but I was never able to move very far beyond the discomfort of white guilt until my professor/mentor (Nicole Carr) recommended this book. It's a very simple instruction manual for revisioning our individual selves as social entities, for being able to admit where we have benefitted from a racist, sexist, heterosexist, classist, etc. social system which distributes privilege to some while denying it to others WITHOUT condemning ourselves as individual "bad people."
  
  AND I will be eternally grateful to Allan Johnson and this book for introducing me to "woman-of-color" feminism (especially to Audre Lorde and Gloria Anzaldua) via a reference to
  This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color. THAT book (and its sequel,
  this bridge we call home: radical visions for transformation, totally reshaped my ethical and moral life philosophy.
• 
  T.Kay Browning

  
  First,the fact that a book that has so much emphasis on class privilege was going to cost me $100 to get a used copy of an old edition of this small paperback, pay even more for a kindle edition, or have access to a major university’s library, was really frustrating. I read this as required reading for my ordination process and that whole process has a lot to do with why our leadership looks less diverse than our values would insist.
  
  The book itself is fine, as far as I can tell. Nothing extraordinary. Just a white guy with a lot of experience talking about issues of privilege laying out some of his theories and best practices. Most of the examples he gives of good behavior are his own, but plenty of the bad ones are as well. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone but other white men who might be a little put off by “privilege culture” and need an introduction. And then only if I had access to a cheap used edition to lend them or point them to.
  
• 
  Joe

  An excellent introduction to sociological perspectives on race, gender, and class differences. This won't be anything new if you're familiar with progressive thought, but it's to Johnson's credit that it's so well-organized and thorough for its relatively tiny page count. There is a ton of content here considering, and I'd love to see what Johnson has to say if he ever attempted to write a real exploration of these topics. It's clear almost from the outset that he's a bona-fide expert in these topics and understands them inside-and-out, which I appreciate in what usually amounts to a cultural conversation filled with personal opinion but very little fact. Johnson strays away from this and veers toward a matter-of-fact explanation, and it makes "Privilege, Power, and Difference" all the better for it. I'll be gifting this book a lot, I imagine.
  
  Of special note is his concise explanation of how capitalism affects the development of stratification among different classes, thereby leading to varying degrees of racism and sexism. His presentation of these issues is (thus far) the best I've read, and does a fantastic job of framing conflicts of race and gender by bringing them back to their economic origins. Johnson also effectively refutes the argument that fear and hatred follows from personal differences; he explains that historically, this isn't true, and rose about the same time capitalist power structures really began to gain steam (the 18th and 19th centuries).
  
  There are many more moments of clarity hidden in this small volume, but I won't spoil them here. Johnson's book deserves a read by anyone interested in understanding issues regarding privilege, race and gender difference, and class conflict. It's an excellent starting point that most certainly puts you square in the middle of all of it-- and facing the right direction, too.
• 
  Christina

  [Will add to this over some time]
  
  This is one of the readings for our PLC group. I find the material within to be clearly written and organized, but, initially anyway, all relatively basic. Admittedly, I found myself feeling a bit impatient with it because none of it was new. That said, this is an excellent primer for teaching about privilege, power, and difference, particularly to a skeptical or uninformed audience. Honestly, I think our all-white (except for one) and all-male (except for one) administration would benefit tremendously from reading and reflecting on its content. I've found most administrations at independent and private schools to be so homogenous, and despite good intentions, there is a tendency to play nice and not really dig into the thorny, complex, painful, and personal aspects of EID issues. It's hard for people to speak up without anticipating defensiveness or negative consequences for "rocking the boat," and it's hard for those in privileged positions to truly see the issues that play out in both subtle and overt ways. I am eager to see the ripple effects of reading and discussing works like this one...
  
  He embeds relevant and powerful historical and contemporary examples into his discussions of these concepts and accessibly acknowledges people's resistance to truly reflecting on ourselves and our own participation in patterns of indifference or oppression.
  
  "Since few people like to see themselves as bad, the words are taboo in 'polite' company, including many training programs in corporations and universities. So, instead of talking about the sexism and racism that plague people's lives, the focus is on 'diversity' and 'tolerance' and 'appreciating difference,' all good things to talk about, but not at all the same as the isms and the trouble they're connected to" (10).
  
  One particularly striking (for me) quote was from an expert in disability studies who also happens to use a wheelchair that children approach him without hesitation or fear but they become more fearful as they get older. This is a good reminder for me to be vigilant and mindful of how I raise my own children and who I expose them to. It has become more of an uphill battle to immerse ourselves in a more diverse array of peoples and life styles... we've grown increasingly comfortable and tracked, in many ways, to remain in a privileged bubble. I need to confront my own prejudices and preferences and constantly evaluate my values and goals for how I want to live my life and raise my children. Comfort may not be the best option, despite its allure and security.
  
  "Perhaps more than any other factor, the reluctance to recognize the more serious and entrenched forms of privilege is why most diversity programs serve as little more than a distraction and produce limited and short-lived results" (23).
  
  Oh boy. I have no doubt that nearly every reader of this review and anyone who has worked in schools or organizations with "diversity programs" has experienced this. Creating a robust, real, effective diversity program is so hard. I'd love to find, experience, and learn from good ones. Surely, there must be some out there.
  
  His historical review of the origins of racial categories points our attention to the white supremacy, white nationalism, and the more publicized forms of hate crimes today (he doesn't get political in an obvious sense, but you can connect the dots).
  
  I think the book gets really interesting (for the sake of PLC discussions, especially) starting in chapter 4, after all of the introductory material.
  
  "Because a microaggressive act can be defended as 'small' and ambiguous ('I was only kidding'), it can have an outsized effect by encouraging members of subordinate groups to doubt themselves -- 'Am I being too sensitive?' -- as they try to figure out what to make of it and its significance" (49).
  
  "Avoidance, exclusion, rejection, and devaluing often happen in ways noticed only by the person experiencing them, and they can happen without anyone intending harm" (50).
  
  "The result is patterns of women and girls learning to circumscribe their lives in order to reduce the odds of being singled out for harassment or attack. [...] When subordinate groups get fed up and express rage, frustration, and resentment, there is always the danger that powerful others -- men, whites, Anglos, the nondisabled, heterosexuals, the middle and upper classes -- will not like it and will retaliate with accusations of being 'unprofessional' or 'malcontents,' 'maladjusted whiners,' 'troublemakers,' 'overly emotional,' 'bitches,' 'out of control,' 'male-bashers.' Given the cultural authority and the power to harm that such retaliation carries, it can be hard to defend against, further adding to the burden of oppression and increasing the unearned advantage of privilege" (52).
  
  Here's what really packs a punch for so many people in positions of authority:
  
  "The position of white people and men in the world leaves them ill equipped to know what their female and minority subordinates, coworkers, and colleagues are up against as they try to make their way in organizations. The path of least resistance is, for those in a privileged position, to see little or no reason to examine themselves in relation to the oppression that damages so many people's lives, to come to terms with how living in a world organized around privilege has shaped them, and how they see other people and themselves. They might try to be fair, which is to say, to treat women as they would men, or people of color as they would whites. but this approach pretends that racism and sexism do not exist beyond conscious awareness and personal intentions, and makes it easier for them to feel unconnected to the trouble. It makes even the possibility of diminishing that dysfunction and vulnerability -- for, say, a while male to mentor white women and people of color -- everything *but a path of least resistance. It also does not serve the needs of people on the outside looking in" (57)
  
  "If the [person in power] does not talk about or acknowledge privilege and oppression, the subordinate trying to learn the ropes and get along is unlikely to risk making powerful people uncomfortable by bringing it up. With so much of importance left unsaid, it is hard to trust those in power. As a result, people do not learn what they need to know. They wind up stuck in place, or in some backwater position within the organization, their talents and abilities unrealized and of no particular use to anyone, including themselves. Or they strike out on their own, dropping out of school or transferring to another university or leaving a job to start their own business or to work for a company that understands the importance of meeting the issues head on" (57).
  
  "Most organizational failures in the area of diversity result not from being run by mean-spirited bigots -- they're not -- but from poorly dealing with issues of privilege or, more likely, not dealing with them at all unless the issue *seem to go away without confronting the deeper reality of privilege and oppression" (58).
  
  I found this to be notable:
  
  "Images of healing are also problematic because they imply that the damage being done is primarily emotional. [...] As reasonable as it sounds, it ignores the fact that a lot of the trouble does not begin and end with interpersonal relations and emotional wounds. Much of it is embedded in structures of power and inequality that shape almost every aspect of life in this society, from segregation to economics, politics, religion, schools, and the family. The idea that we are going to get out of this by somehow getting to a place where we are kinder and more sensitive to one another ignores most of what we have to overcome -- which is all that has kept us from it for so long. It sets us up to walk right past the trouble toward an alternative that does not, and cannot, exist until we do something about what creates and drives privilege and oppression in the first place. And that is something that needs to be changed, not healed" (59)
  
  Appealing to healing "feed[s] on the desperate illusion that if we ignore it long enough or try to replace it with good intentions, it will go away" (59).
  
  YES!
  
  [The above mostly covers chs. 1-4]
  
  "Another problem with acting from a sense of principle or virtue is that part of its appeal is the good feeling it gives people when they do it, which usually works only as long as the feeling lasts. [...] What is sustaining is a sense of ownership, that the trouble is truly our own and not someone else's, because this means our responsibility to do something no longer feels like an option" (63-64).
  
  Very thorough list under "Getting Off the Hook: Denial and Resistance" (ch. 8).
  
  A lot of his statements under "What Can We Do?" (ch. 9) hinges on faith in progress from collective efforts, even when we cannot see them. To question who we are and how the world works as we look for alternatives. "It takes only one person to tear the fabric of collusion and apparent consensus" (112).
  
  "The simplest way to help others make different choices is to make them ourselves, in the open, where everyone can see. As we shift the patterns of our own participation, we make it easier for others to do it too, and at the same time, we make it harder to stay on the old path" (113).
  
  "we are not required to change people's minds. [...] But we can shift the odds in favor of new paths that contradict core values on which system of privilege depend" (113).
  
  I find his specific lists to be most pedagogically helpful. He has great ones, such as one on "what privilege looks like in everyday life" adapted from McIntosh's essay (27-31), why dominant groups don't see privilege as a problem (61-62), and a list of questions that reveal worldview differences (136).
  
  Some excellent questions at the end, esp. good for teaching (140).
• 
  Andrew Shaffer

  It's a book on privilege written by a privileged man for a privileged audience.
  
  Johnson is very upfront about his position to the subject he's writing about, yet this position does rob him of some credibility which is only partially made up by his credentials. While he doesn't explicitly states it, this book is fairly obviously written for a middle class, heterosexual, white audience, one that has likely never had to think about the subject matter before. Read in this light, the book does a good job of presenting the basics of privilege, and placing them into both historical and present day contexts.
  
  The book has a gaping hole, however, that the author fails to address. Towards the end of the book, the author lists various strategies and ideas for how we can work to limit the effects of privilege, many of which are insightful and eminently useful. He fails to remind readers, however, that no matter how much reading or thinking a person with privilege does, they will never be an expert on it. In discussions of privilege, those of us who are privileged need to yield to the expertise of those who are disadvantaged by our privilege. We have a responsibility to work towards ending our privilege, however if we present ourselves as the saviors of the unprivileged, we can inadvertently reinforce our privilege in the process.
  
  While this omission is fairly standard in discussions of privilege led by the privileged, it is an important point to consider. My hope is that the author addresses this failure in the second edition.
• 
  Josh

  What I like about this book is that it breaks down my defenses as a white male. It doesn't say you as an indivudual are responsible for privilege but says you have a responsibility to recognize your privilege and work together (not alone) to make the world a more equitable place. In general the book asks lots of questions so the reader can interpret their own emotions and how they're shaped by bigger societal ideas. I agree with some other reviews that the early chapters can be repetitive in a professor-like way of saying something then saying it again in a different way.
• 
  Patricia

  Read the 2017 third edition and I have to say the book really does get into the foundations of privilege. If you know someone who is beginning their journey into privilege, this would be a good book to recommend however if you’re already living the experience and doing the work, it might be a bit redundant. There’s some good reminders and vocab in there (and specific scenarios that could be helpful for workshops) but does take time to read although a short book.
• 
  Stacy

  This book is an excellent introduction to incredibly loaded topics. You likely won't find it groundbreaking if you're familiar with said topics, but you might find yourself with additional ways to articulate why you think what you think or feel what you feel.
• 
  Jennifer

  really interesting book given all that is going on in the world. the book was copyrighted in 2006, but 2018 shows things are getting worse in regards to addressing the issues. I would have liked to see ageism addressed more.
• 
  Hannah

  fine, but basic. there’s something to be said about me having to pay $59 for 140 pages about privilege and oppression from a cis het white guy. i also found that his epilogue’s call for civility contradicts what he says earlier about taking a stand, but that’s just my perception.
• 
  Vari Robinson

  Sometimes frustrating because of it being out of date (aka no discussion of people who don't identify on the gender binary, some outdated language, etc.), but overall a good start.
• 
  Jody Bowie

  An easy read - helps the beginner think in terms of privilege and oppression in society. Must be read with a willingness to learn. If one reads this and believes there isn't systemic oppression of "others" in our society, those readers will be disappointed.
• 
  Jared Lancaster

  Wish I could get the President of the United States to sit in a clockwork orange style contraption and force him to read this line by line.
• 
  Anna (bibliophiles_bookstagram)

  More good info and reminders. Allan Johnson reminds readers often of his status as a white male, and that his privilege is something he needs to be aware of and understand how this privilege also contributes to others’ oppression. It’s about awareness and finding ways to help change the system.
• 
  Clarissa

  A bit repetitive, but still a good reminder of the privilege we hold and how to make a difference for those who lack privilege.
• 
  Andrew

  Allan Johnson uses this short book to explain something that's probably not new to anyone who's taken more than an intro class in sociology: what systems of privilege are, how to recognize them, and how to deal with them. I found it incredibly thought-provoking, especially having not read much on these topics yet.
  
  As someone who hasn't studied sociology, I found his descriptions of social norms helpful, simply in articulating the power that social norms have in shaping behavior better than I have seen before. He describes them as "paths of least resistance", where resistance (subtle or not) often pops up when you try to do something out of the ordinary. (Interestingly, a lot of the seduction community's advice is about encouraging people to ignore social norms. Telling men that "the only thing stopping them from [inappropriate but forward behavior towards women] is yourself" is common.) Though it's a bit contrived, I even enjoyed the extended metaphor in which he used Monopoly to illustrate both how systems influence behavior by optimizing for certain characteristics.
  
  Johnson writes primarily as a sociologist, which I found mildly disorienting after coming from more technical books on economics and technology. It's a book about feelings, about putting yourself in someone else's shoes, about considering the effects of phrasing things in subtly different ways. He also writes in a way that's I found very considerate as an introvert---instead of the motivational pamphlet that says "If your friend says something racist, CALL THEM OUT", he offers small, quiet ways to gently reshape social norms in the circles you occupy and specific actions to cause more discomfort and make people around you think about what's happening. Even more helpful, I found, to feeling comfortable in reacting to displays of privilege is Johnson's reshaping of the discussion from individualistic faults and guilt to broader societal issues.
  
  The primary downside to this book is one a lot of reviewers highlight: as a white nondisabled heterosexual male, the author cannot provide personal insight on being in any of the unprivileged groups he discusses. He doesn't try to, and he even lets you know that he's very aware of this shortcoming, but it's there nevertheless. The positive side to this is that the book focuses more on how to be observant of privileged systems, how to be aware of one's own actions unintentionally displaying power over others, and how to be more understanding and considerate towards people who are in a less privileged group, since that is what the author is more able to describe personally.
• 
  erin

  Ever present in the 2nd edition of Privilege, Power, and Difference are the ways that structural inequalities impact individual experiences/thoughts. Johnson explores race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability status with language that is easy to understand for those new to the field of work around privilege and oppression in this compact tome. Capitalism's oppressive power & contributions to inequality are also interwoven throughout this book, which ultimately helps to cement Johnson's argument that structure and the individual are inexorably linked. It seems that Johnson's main goals in this book are to help the reader understand how privilege and oppression work in relation to society, but also in their own life. And, lest one worry that this is like so many other sociologically-oriented books (which is, to say, simply dredging up problems with no "solution"), the last chapter of this book is solely devoted to helping the reader realize what can be individually done about privilege and oppression all while dissuading burnout.
  
  This is a great introduction, and because of the wide variety of topics covered it is also a useful tool to those who've done a good deal of work/reading around privilege and oppression.
• 
  Arlene

  There is not a lot of new information in this book, and it is quite repetitive, yet it does make some good points. I was especially impressed with the last chapter, in which he states the power of the cooperation and support from the enfranchised group for the disenfranchised group in making any kind of meaningful change. This has been true most recently in the marriage equality movement. We never would have achieved the progress that has been made without the support of the heterosexual community.
  
  Who knows how long it will take for women to achieve equality with men? Just when I think progress has been made, something happens to slap me in the face, yet again, with the fact that men still hold the power,
• 
  Gabe

  This book reads like a long opinion piece and does not come across as being authoritative or convincing. My feeling is that people who already agree with him on the issues of race and privilege might find the book encouraging, but people with opposing viewpoints would probably not be moved. I also got the feeling throughout the book that the author was putting words in the reader's mouth and then refuting them. I found this style somewhat frustrating both because I wasn't thinking what he expected me to think and because his typical method of refutation involves simply saying "that's wrong, but this is right." I didn't find the book irredeemable, however. The topic is interesting, and it did get me thinking a bit more about issues of privilege.
• 
  Rojo

  For my internship this summer, we're putting together a Diversity Profile which will look at diversity and inclusion in the Minnesota Historical Society and the other historical sites around Minnesota. This is one of the books that I picked to read for research on this project and it is VERY good. Actually, I'd give it 3.5 stars.
  
  Most of the concepts and information are things that I have already heard about and worked with in I Am, We Are so it was not surprising--just surprising that I would find it in a book I was reading for work!
  
  If you're at all interested in learning more about privilege or social justice, this is a good starter.
• 
  David Glasgow

  This is a basic, accessible introduction to issues of privilege. For that reason it will not offer an awful lot to people already familiar with literature on privilege, equality and inclusion. He also makes highly controversial claims, such as that racism was essentially an invention of capitalism, without adequately supporting them. This gave the book at times the feeling of assertion over argument. But as a thoughtful exposition of the key indicators of privilege, why its existence is denied, and how we can change systems that entrench it, this is a useful text.
• 
  Jean

  Very interesting read. Pretty much all common sense ideas people actually never think about. A bit repetitive, but at least after reading the whole book through, the repeated info will stick in my mind. Sadly, I don't think anything is actually going to change, no matter how hopeful the book is for a better tomorrow...
• 
  Hannah

  Johnson does a great job picking apart what privilege & power looks like and how it impacts our society in big and little ways. I wish he discussed more through out what we can do to help change the system besides just the last chapter. This book has helped me really start to reexamine my actions and implicit biases.
• 
  Scott

  Remarkably comprehensive for a clear, concise examination of the dynamics of power and privilege in our society. It provides useful language for talking about power and privilege to those who are reluctant to acknowledge them, and useful advice on how to take on making a difference in dismantling them.
• 
  Amanda Kingston

  "There is no such thing as doing nothing. There is no such thing as neutral or uninvolved. At every moment, social life involves all of us."
  •••
  This is a great intro into the titular concepts, particularly privilege, how it functions and how we function within it. It's also a really accessible read; check it out and let's chat!
• 
  Fran

  I found the book very readable. The author does a thorough job of wrestling with the issues inherent in diversity as a social concern, without preaching a solution. Sometimes I think that's ok, and this is one of those times.