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Published on: September 28, 2018
What's so insidious about "Peace, Love, and Understanding"? A system justification perspective
John T Jost1, Chadly Stern, David A Kalkstein
1Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA. john.jost@nyu.edu
Abstract:
We agree that promoting intergroup harmony "carries insidious, often unacknowledged, 'system-justifying' consequences" (sect. 4.1.3, para. 2) and identify several ways in which “benevolent” and “complementary” stereotypes, superordinate identification, intergroup contact, and prejudice reduction techniques can undermine social change motivation by reinforcing system-justifying beliefs. This may "keep the peace," but it also prevents individuals and groups from tackling serious social problems, including inequality and oppression.
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