On the Meaning, Measurement, and Implications of Racial Resentment

Abstract

A new racism, it is claimed, has become a dominant feature of contemporary American politics. According to the theory’s originators, the new racism has largely replaced the old racism, which was based on the alleged biological inferiority of blacks. The new racism, referred to as “symbolic racism” or, more recently, “racial resentment,” by contrast, is defined as a conjunction of anti-black feelings and American moral traditionalism. According to its proponents, this new racism now structures and dominates the racial thinking of whites generally. Howard Schuman has suggested, however, that the index used to measure racial resentment may be fundamentally flawed because it may be conflated with the measurement of attitudes toward racial policies. The authors’ analysis supports Schuman’s suggestion. They conclude that racial resentment is not a valid measure of racism, which raises questions about the extent to which a new racism now dominates the thinking of white Americans.