The principal theme of the book is that social science is at its best, and most exciting, when it confronts and refutes "cultures of prejudice"--intricate systems of beliefs and attitudes that sustain many forms of social oppression and that are, themselves, sustained by ignorance and fear of the unknown and the unfamiliar.

Acknowledgments

Part One: Introduction to the Book and its Authors

Suggested Readings

Part Two: Nationalism, Racism, Fundamentalism, and Terrorism

1. "My country, right or wrong"

Notorious motto of nationalistic jingoism

2. "Everybody is a racist; it’s part of human nature"

Fatalistic belief condoning the perpetuation of racial oppression

3. "I’m not a racist, and nobody I know is either"

A worthy statement which invites discussion of "colour-blindness"

4. "Immigrants are threatening our way of life"

Centuries-old fear expressed about every new wave of immigration, even by members of the last wave of immigration

5. "God is on our side"

Common belief, usually held by "both" sides in armed conflict

6. "Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists"

A mind-numbingly ridiculous Hobson's choice offered up by US President G.W. Bush, September 20, 2001

Suggested Readings

Part Three: Colonialism and Globalization

7. "Third World poverty is the result of traditional values"

First World conceits about "backward" societies

8. "The USA promotes freedom throughout the world"

America as saviour of the global community

9. "Free markets pave the way for social development"

The World Trade Organization as benign force for social good

Suggested Readings

Part Four: Poverty and Social Dispossession

10. "The Welfare State Rewards Laziness"

The poor are different from "the rest of us" prejudice

11. "Idle hands are the Devil's workshop"

More myths about poverty

12. "Indians shouldn’t have any special rights"

Belief that aboriginal peoples are "just another minority group"

13. "If unemployed people can’t find jobs, they should start their own businesses"

Anachronistic view concerning "individual responsibility," work, and the sanctity of small business enterprise

14. "Recent trends toward falling living standards show that there are 'natural limits' to the expansion of human prosperity"

Naturalistic explanation for why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer

15. "The real culprit for the poverty gap (between rich and poor countries) is not uneven trade, but excessive population growth"

Neo-Malthusian prejudice

Suggested Readings

Part Five: Social Class

16. "Class inequality is an inevitable feature of the human condition"

Misanthropic belief that "There will always be a ruling class"

17. "As a rule, the rich deserve their wealth"

Corollary to the absurd notion that the poor deserve to be poor

18. "A classless society in a complex and economically developed society is impossible; it is an unrealistic utopia"

Excuse for gross social inequality amidst tremendous wealth and productive capacity

19. "Most people belong to the middle class"

Myth of the "Middle Class Society"

Suggested Readings

Part Six: Feminism and the Women's Movement

20. "Feminists are just 'male bashers'"
Misogynist notion representing a step up from "bra burners." Better not to be thought of only for denouncing one's underwear

21. "Feminism is no longer relevant"
Delusional statement by people who think women "have it all"

Suggested Readings

Part Seven: Health, Sexuality, and Reproduction

22. "Doctor Knows Best"

Dubious homespun advice encouraged by medical professionals everywhere

23. "Modesty and virtue are the essence of femininity"

Who needs genital mutilation, when ideology can cripple sexual fulfillment just as effectively?

24. "Homosexuality is unnatural"

Or, why my orgasm is better than yours

25. "Abortion is murder"

Anti-woman hysterical rhetoric of the anti-abortion movement

26. "The family is a haven in a heartless world"

The "family values" myth

Suggested Readings

Part Eight: Policing the Culture of Prejudice

27. "Lock 'em up and throw away the key!"

Expensive, inefficient, inhumane, and remarkably simple-minded solution to the modern "crime problem"

28. "Just say 'no' to drugs"

Or, why my drugs are okay and yours aren't, as propounded by Nancy Reagan, Leading Lady to former actor and US President Ronald, c. 1980s

29. "Support Your Local Police"

Popular propaganda of dubious value to protesters of the Culture of Prejudice

30. "In America, Justice is Blind"

Myth of "Equality Before the Law"

Suggested Readings

Part Nine: Ecology and Animal Liberation

31. "People come first"

Conceits of anthropocentrism

32. "Eating meat is natural"

Preference defined as inevitability

33. "Hunting is part of human nature"

"Human nature" as a rationalization for the inhumane

Suggested Readings

Part Ten: The Economy

34. "When Corporations Win, Everyone Wins"

Or, why big business is our saviour, as explained in a letter to the editor, The St. Catharines Standard, August 9, 1997

35. "Unions are too powerful; they are detrimental to the economy"

Anti-labour sentiment in a world dominated by big capital

Suggested Readings

Part Eleven: Politics and Ideology

36. "He who says organization says oligarchy"

The anti-democratic prejudices of Robert Michels

37. "Radicalism of the Left and Right are Equally Deplorable"

The "golden mean" prejudice

38. "Vote for the candidate of your choice, but vote"

The "democratic" prejudice

Suggested Readings

Epilogue: "Black September" and the Culture of Prejudice

Glossary

Index

By Judith C. Blackwell, Murray E.G. Smith, and John S. Sorenson