What do we mean by loyalty? (formerly Re: Inferences of loyalty from ethnic background)

[shubha ghosh]

I find this thread interesting, especially the
construction of when it is rational to discriminate
based on racial or ethnic identity.  Rational
discrimination is a flawed argument, resting on the
problem of induction, that is making generalizations
of a class based on individual characteristics.  I had
planned on commenting on this problem of induction,
but instead thought I would raise the question of what
we mean by loyalty.

Since presumably dissent even during wartime is
protected speech, it strikes me that identifying
loyalty and ferreting out disloyalty is not an
appropriate task for the state to engage in, even
during wartime.  The concern during wartime is conduct
that can undermine the war effort by providing
material resources to the enemy.  Ethnic identity or
citizenship status (such as joint citizenship or
naturalized US citizenship) is a poor proxy for that
type of disloyalty.  If racial or ethnic identity is
simply being used as a proxy for potential dissent,
then the discrimination rationale could be used
against a wide range of groups: members of the SDS,
anti-war activists, etc.


The argument for rational discrimination based on the
divided loyalties of dual citizens or naturalized
citizens seems as weak as the arguments that gay
individuals should be signalled out as security risks
because of the risk of blackmail (a rationale I
understand that was quite common under the Hoover
administration and perhaps still exists now).

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