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Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - III. Population and Migration - 7. Population - 4. Ends and Means of Population Policy
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170 An American Dilemma
In our further discussion of the means in Negro population policy we
might start out from the desire of the politically dominant white popula-
tion to get rid of the Negroes. This is a goal difficult to reach by approved
means, and the desire has never been translated into action directly, and
probably never will be. All.the most obvious means go strongly against the
American Creed. The Negroes cannot be killed off. Compulsory deporta-
tion would infringe upon personal liberty in such a radical fashion that it
is excluded. Voluntary exportation of Negroes could not be carried on
extensively because of unwillingness on the part of recipient nations as well
as on the part of the American Negroes themselves, who usually do not
want to leave the country but prefer to stay and fight it out here.” Neither
is it possible to effectuate the goal by keeping up the Negro death rate.
A high death rate is an unhumanitarian and undemocratic way to restrict the
Negro population and, in addition, expensive to society and dangerous to
the white population. The only possible way of decreasing Negro popula-
tion is by means of controlling fertility. But as we shall find, even birth
control—for Negroes as well as for whites—will, in practice, have to be
considered primarily as a means to other ends than that of decreasing the
Negro population.
In the final analysis all these theoretically possible ’policies to e^ectuate
the white desire to decrease the Negro population are blocked by the
American Creed (except birth control which, however, is largely attached
to other ends). This is why the desire is never publicly expressed. The
influence of the American Creed goes even further. Should America in
the future, when the net reproduction of the nation has decreased still
further, embark upon a policy to stimulate the bearing and rearing of
children, the democratic Creed of this country will come to prescribe that
aids to families be equally available to Negroes and other unpopular
groupsy ^^independent of creed, color or race,^^
In sum, if America does not turn fascist, the numerically and politically
dominant white population will be driven by its national ethos to abstain
from taking any practical measures to realize its desire to decrease the
Negro population. Instead, it will be compelled to extend to the Negroes
the population measures taken primarily to build up the white population.
This is, of course, exactly what the Negroes want, and a unity of purpose
becomes established on the basis of the American Creed.
Meanwhile, the basic conflict of valuations on the part of the dominant
whites is, as we pointed out, one of the explanations why there is so little
discussion of broad population policy in America. It helps, further, to
explain much of the discrimination a:nd indifference about Negro welfare
and the great difficulty in stamping it out. On the other hand, it should,
at least, give an extra impetus to make effective birth control available
•See, however, Chapter 38, Section 12.
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