Progress and Backlash: The Absurd Cycles of Resistance in America’s Caste System

The American story of progress has always been one of tension. Every stride toward equity is met with calculated resistance—efforts designed to preserve a deeply entrenched caste system. This system, described by Isabel Wilkerson in Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, assigns value and opportunity based on inherited traits like race and gender (Wilkerson, 2020). While some advances have dismantled parts of the system, each step forward provokes backlash aimed at sustaining its core structure. One of the starkest ironies in this struggle lies in the role of white women. Laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and policies like affirmative action were intended to address racial injustices, but they also provided white women with transformative opportunities. Yet today, many of these beneficiaries—or their descendants—oppose Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and affirmative action, framing them as threats to fairness. This opposition perpetuates the caste system and highlights the contradiction of resisting progress after benefiting from it.

Meritocracy: The Myth of Fairness

Meritocracy is often portrayed as the fairest path to opportunity, promising that success depends solely on ability, effort, and achievement, independent of background. In practice, however, meritocracy often rewards privilege more than talent. It serves as a shield for systemic inequities, allowing those in power to justify exclusion under the guise of fairness.

A Case Study in Meritocracy’s Failures

Consider the story of a man consistently rated as “outstanding” in his job performance. Over several years, he applied for numerous promotions for which he was clearly qualified. Yet, despite his exceptional record, he was repeatedly overlooked. Statistically, he should have secured multiple opportunities, but biases—whether unconscious or deliberate—kept the doors closed. His experience underscores how meritocracy, in reality, is rarely about merit alone. Subjective factors, such as cultural fit or implicit biases, often distort decisions, favoring those who align with dominant norms.

The Double Standard of Meritocracy

Meritocracy’s flaws are most evident in its selective application. Legacy admissions at elite universities, for instance, prioritize children of alumni—disproportionately white and affluent—while affirmative action faces relentless scrutiny. Similarly, vague workplace evaluations often disadvantage women and people of color, with criticisms like “lacks confidence” or “not a cultural fit” used to justify exclusion. These patterns reveal that meritocracy is not a neutral system but a narrative designed to preserve privilege.

White Women and the Contradiction of Resistance

The Civil Rights Movement laid the groundwork for transformative change. By including “sex” as a protected category, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 unintentionally opened doors for white women, allowing them to break into higher education, professional roles, and leadership positions (Alexander, 2010). Affirmative action further accelerated these gains, making white women some of its greatest beneficiaries. Yet studies show that nearly 70% of white women now oppose affirmative action (Time, 2017). Many argue that it undermines meritocracy, ignoring how these very policies helped them succeed. This contradiction underscores the irony of their resistance: How can a group that climbed the ladder of equity turn around and oppose the policies that extended it? This resistance perpetuates the caste system by ensuring that barriers for others—especially African Americans and Hispanics—remain intact. It also highlights a recurring theme: progress for one group often becomes the justification for resisting progress for others.

Cycles of Progress and Backlash

A cyclical pattern marks America’s history: every step toward equity provokes a backlash designed to reconfigure oppression for the times. These responses are not coincidental but deliberate efforts to preserve the caste system.

The End of Slavery and the Rise of Jim Crow

The abolition of slavery was a monumental step forward, yet it was followed by the rise of Jim Crow laws. These laws enforced segregation and disenfranchisement, maintaining white supremacy through legal and social mechanisms. Sharecropping replaced slavery as a system of economic control, binding African Americans to exploitative labor agreements (Wilkerson, 2010).

The Civil Rights Movement and Mass Incarceration

The victories of the Civil Rights Movement dismantled segregation and secured voting rights, but they provoked a backlash disguised as “law and order” policies. These initiatives, including the War on Drugs, disproportionately targeted African Americans, leading to mass incarceration (Alexander, 2010). This system effectively replaced Jim Crow, perpetuating racial disparities under the guise of justice.

Affirmative Action and the “Woke” Resistance

Affirmative action and DEI initiatives aimed to address systemic inequities in education and employment. Yet these efforts sparked fierce opposition. Terms like “woke” have been weaponized to frame equity as a threat to fairness. Today, “woke” serves as a pejorative, undermining calls for justice and sustaining the caste system by delegitimizing progress.

Meritocracy in Practice: A Flawed Reality

The failures of meritocracy are evident across institutions, from workplaces to schools. Despite decades of progress, marginalized groups continue to face systemic barriers.

Pay Disparities

Women, African Americans, and Hispanics consistently earn less than their white male counterparts, even when controlling for experience and qualifications. White women earn 82 cents for every dollar earned by white men, while Black women earn 63 cents and Hispanic women 58 cents (EEOC, 2020).

Promotion Disparities

Marginalized employees, even when highly qualified, are often passed over for promotions. Subjective biases and cultural norms ensure that leadership remains predominantly white and male.

Educational Inequities

Schools in minority communities receive less funding and fewer resources than schools in affluent, predominantly white neighborhoods. This disparity denies many students the chance to compete on merit, exposing the false promise of educational equity.

The Preservation of the Caste System

At its core, resistance to equity is about maintaining the American caste system. As Wilkerson explains, this system ensures that white men occupy the top tier, white women serve as their subordinates, and minorities remain relegated to the bottom (Wilkerson, 2020). The backlash against DEI and affirmative action sustains this hierarchy by framing equity initiatives as threats to meritocracy. By opposing these policies, critics obscure the systemic barriers they address. They argue for neutrality while defending a status quo that has never been neutral. This resistance ensures that privilege remains concentrated at the top, reinforcing the very inequities meritocracy claims to oppose.

Reclaiming Progress

Breaking the cycle of progress and backlash requires confronting the fears that drive resistance. These fears are not about fairness but about losing control over the narrative—over whose stories matter and whose progress is permissible. To move forward, we must challenge the myths of meritocracy and reclaim the true meaning of terms like “woke.” Progress dismantles barriers so everyone can thrive, rather than favoring one group over another. Equity is not a threat to fairness; it is a pathway to it. By rejecting the rhetoric of resistance, we can create a society where opportunity is dictated by genuine merit—not race, gender, or inherited privilege.

Conclusion: Breaking the Cycle

The American story of progress is also a story of resistance. From the abolition of slavery to the Civil Rights Movement, from affirmative action to DEI, every step toward equity has been met with backlash. This resistance is not about policies or principles but about preserving a caste system that has defined America for centuries. Yet history shows that progress is inevitable. The irony of opposing equity, especially by those who have benefited most from it, underscores the urgency of the fight. To break the cycle, we must reject the false promises of meritocracy and embrace equity as a collective imperative. Only then can we dismantle the caste system and fulfill the promise of equality for all. Progress is not easy, but it is necessary—and it is worth it.

References

  • Alexander, M. (2010). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press.

  • Wilkerson, I. (2020). Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Random House.

  • Al Jazeera. (2023). “The End of Affirmative Action Will Also Hurt White Students.” Retrieved from aljazeera.com.

  • Time. (2017). “Affirmative Action’s Unexpected Victims: White Women.” Retrieved from time.com.

  • Vox. (2016). “Why White Women Owe Their Success to Affirmative Action.” Retrieved from vox.com.

  • EEOC. (2020). “African American Women in the Federal Sector.” Retrieved from eeoc.gov.

  • Wilkerson, I. (2010). The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration. Vintage.