By Dr. Brooks Robinson\ Black Economics
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
The time for parables, half-truths, feeding pablum to the people, and for obfuscation is over. Time
for using psychological, subliminal, and programmatic tricks to confuse the population is over.
Being partly ignorant (an excuse without justification today) we rely largely on scientists (who are
purposefully divided to add to the confusion), who say that Earth stands at or near a disastrous
point of no return due to Climate Change. In addition, we know that existing conflicts, skirmishes,
and small wars place us on the brink of a full-blown world war and, due to the proliferation of
nuclear weapons, the end of time and life that humans have known for thousands of years. It does
not mean that civilization will not rise again, but we will not be tightly linked to that future.
What does this have to do with Black economics?
We address the just-stated question in two parts. First, the economics part. From the economics
side and to answer the question and the topic question, we must consider “causation.” Note that
we plead partial ignorance in this matter because we have not lived the elevated life of ivory tower
economists and have not kept fully apace with esoteric statistical methods for determining
causation. Our experience is mainly with econometric approaches based on Clive Granger’s work
and the most popular technique for estimating causal relationship today popularized by Donald
Rubin. Nevertheless, suffice it to say that economists have made determination of causation as
difficult as extracting gold from Fort Knox, or the most sublime Fabergé eggs from Russia’s St.
Petersburg Museum, or the Hope Diamond from the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC.
Therefore, if the world’s economists—our society’s “high priests”—have made determining
definitively that X causes Y as intricate and as complex as performing an awake craniotomy, then
it should be no surprise that everyday people have great difficulty even conceiving the need to be
explicit about why things are as they are.
For the second part, let us commit to using crowbars, chisels, or flat screw drivers to pry open gaps
to expose truths. We begin by asking what is the cause of Black America’s predicament?
Economists, psychologists, sociologists, scientists (mainly of the medical variety), educators,
lawyers, politicians, and religious philosophers all have explanations for our predicament. By
predicament, we mean at the bottom of the heap and not distributed representatively across all
socioeconomic hierarchies like almost all other races and ethnicities.
Economists are divided on the issue. Most Black economists assign the cause largely to racial
discrimination. Conservative economists (Black and White) allude to Black Americans’ failure to
bootstrap a change in the status quo.
Psychologists say that we are in great travail and confusion because of our American historical
experience that saw European thugs stealing us from Africa as illegal prisoners and bringing us
to the Western Hemisphere and practicing mythical “Willie Lynch” principles on us.
Consequently, we do not have an inclination or motivation to right our own boat.
Medical scientists argue that we do not consume correct nourishment and are affected adversely
by improper food, beverage, and drug consumption, which causes us to exhibit behaviors that are
risky and contribute to our ill condition. Genetic scientists have recently cleaved to epigenetics
saying that all the foregoing and more have been seared into our DNA which produces the today
that we know.
Educators concur with Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who said we are Mis-Educated. We are as we are
because we do not know who we are. Living with the pain of not fully knowing who we are, we
do what we do, which reinforces our predicament, or we do not do what we should to transform
our predicament.
Lawyers, like certain economists, say: We have been mistreated mainly through discrimination,
so let us litigate the matter to a favorable resolution.
Politicians say that we are excluded from policymaking, so let us convince more Black Americans
to enter politics and that will solve the problem. Hence, the coming forth of BO and KH.
Now for the world’s three most popular religions with African origins. Christian philosophers say
that we are not truthful to ourselves, that we do not exhibit righteousness, and we commit sins that
make us unappealing to our neighbors. Islamic philosophers tell a story similar to Christians, but
add that we have a right to engage in an external jihad because our enemies do not conform to
principles of peace and respect as reflected in a righteous spirit of human brotherhood and
sisterhood.
Unfortunately, and at the same time, it is common knowledge today that the virulent form of
Christianity with a White Jesus and God serves as the backbone of a Racist White Supremacist
tradition. Similarly, Orthodox Muslims cannot escape the synonymity of “ﺀﺑﺪ” (transliterated abd,
slave) and Black persons, which persists in Islamic societies. There is historical and contemporary
evidence of efforts to relegate Black persons to the lowest social status. As for Buddhism, it is so
scientific yet amorphous with its middle way and moderation that it is too tepid to be
transformative. It says our world does not really exist, so do not give it too much thought.
No doubt, there is truth in the saying that telling a bald-faced lie is irrational. In other words, if the
intent is to generate belief in a falsehood, then the falsehood must be brewed with some truth. So
it is with all the foregoing. There is a bit of truth in it all, but not one of the aforementioned “causes”
of the Black American predicament reflects enough hard and potent truth to crack the code and
turn our world right side up.
If all the foregoing is not the cause, then what is?
A family member is a minister of the Gospel and is quick to state from a material perspective that:
“The answer is always money, now what’s the question?” From a religious perspective and overtly
avoiding bias, there is concurrence with The Beatles (“All You Need Is Love”) and Todd Rundgren
(“Love is the Answer”). These songs express great truths. If we all loved one another and agreed
to share available wealth righteously, then we could resolve Black America’s predicament.
However, even this is not the most fundamental and correct answer to the topic of this essay: “That
is Not the Cause: What is?”
By dispensing with parables, half-truths, and serving pablum, we offer the following conclusion.
It is a realization and admonition by another family member, who is a spiritualist: We (Black
Americans) must “go within.” What will we find there? Ourselves in our most complete and
vulnerable form. Once within, what must we do? We must ask ourselves four questions: (1) Is our
position at the bottom of the heap bothersome? (2) If it is, then what are we willing to do to make
the bothersome condition disappear? (3) Are we willing to study the condition and identify the
most effective means of righting our boat? (4) Once we identify the effective means, are we willing
to pay the ultimate price to produce the transformation that will eliminate the bothersomeness of
our condition?
Those who find no bothersomeness in our condition will view this essay as irrelevant. But those
who find our condition bothersome face a Mount Everest climb.
The last statement is quite “a hell of a how do you do!” But it is a reality. Some will say that they
cannot do it alone, and we are likely to be alone in aspects of your struggle. When the latter occurs,
we must turn inward again and resume with question 1.
It is safe to say that all major religions of the world include an equivalent of the following
statement: “In life, you will face no more than you can bear.” It sounds hokey but it is true. If you
cannot bear it, then you will die, and will no longer be in life. This takes us back to the final
question that concerns paying the ultimate price.
The historical Jesus personality is so powerful and captivating—irrespective of its veracity—due
to his willingness to pay the ultimate price because of “LOVE.” The White Supremacists who are
synonymous with Christianity reflect the Jesus ultimate price mentality in a twisted sense. They
have displayed a willingness to put absolute everything on the line to conquer and oppress the
world. They retain that commitment today. That is why they have been successful. They reflect an
intense “love” for themselves and their descendants. Black Americans’ problem is that we do not
yet Love ourselves enough to pay the ultimate price to transform our bothersome condition.
This essay is to help remove the sleep from our eyes so that we (Black Americans) see clearly and
comprehend the requirement to revise the “you” to “we” and the “the” to “our” in the
aforementioned songs from The Beatles and Todd Rundgren, respectively, and to then etch their
truths immutably and eternally into our minds and hearts.
As an economist committed to eliminating economic inequality, there is an undying interest in
using every tool in our toolbox to produce this desired outcome. This essay confirms that, if we
realize our condition is bothersome and if we come to possess enough Love for ourselves alone
and together, then we will all do all that it takes to eliminate the bothesomeness and produce
desired outcomes.
However, we must also account for “spillovers.” When Black Americans eliminate the
bothersomeness, we will recognize our power, which will be tempered by our historical lived
experiences, and we will likely work unceasingly to prevent the reoccurrence of our experience in
the future. It is such an outcome that can help engender peace, prosperity, and preservation of our
world—something that we all need direly today.
Dr. Brooks Robinson is the founder of the Black Economics.org website.
