Equity’s worldview, as I see it, starts with the proposition that the White majority is guilty of bigotry and oppression, and that all differential outcomes between groups are solely the result of that bigotry and oppression. Equity proponents therefore argue that retributive actions against the majority are necessary to correct those wrongs. Reparations for slavery — which a House committee has voted to study — are such an action; so are hiring programs that specifically recruit racial minorities, campaigns to support only Black-owned businesses and firms that require their board of directors to have a certain percentage of minorities. A perfect example of equity is the anti-poverty stipend recently announced by the city of Oakland, Calif., offered only to residents who are “BIPOC” — that is, Black, Indigenous or people of color. The program explicitly excludes poor White families.

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Proponents of equity see no problem with treating groups of people differently based solely on race, as long as it serves their agenda. This is what we used to call racism, and those not blinded by identity politics still recognize it as such.

There are several problems with the equity rationale. Most important, those alive today are not culpable for misconduct that took place long before they were born, and it would be unjust to hold them responsible for it. It would also be unjust to provide benefits to those who were not actual victims of that misconduct. Regardless, explicitly categorizing people by race, and distributing governmental benefits and burdens based on those categories, never works.  . . .

Even assuming we avoid the worst-case outcomes of ethnic violence and civil war, it is still unclear that equity programs are or could be successful. There is scant evidence that robbing Peter to pay Paul on a purely racial basis would produce better outcomes for the recipient. A perfect example comes from the housing market: The Black homeownership rate today stands at the lowest level since the 1960s, despite hundreds of billions of dollars in spending since that time on various types of redistribution programs of the type that equity advocates desire. . . .