Opinion – Michael França: High-income white men (do not) represent society?

Let’s take it easy. The title is a little confusing and provocative, I know. But my aim here is to try to help develop a constructive public debate around sensitive topics. I guarantee the text will be more balanced.

First, it is important to remember that high-income white men represent the dominant group. This is a fact well documented by statistics. In all spaces with greater social status and power in Brazilian society, they are dominating.

Some came from a disadvantaged background and struggled to get ahead in life. However, most are in their positions due to family influence. Of these, many took advantage of their favorable socioeconomic conditions and became brilliant people. Others did not have the same commitment. They only got where they are because the birth lottery helped.

Despite this, many are genuinely committed to transforming Brazil. However, class, gender and race bias can affect, in different situations, how they interpret the facts and the quality of their analyses, thus compromising the effectiveness of their actions and the design of public policies.

This is because an individual’s trajectory influences the way he perceives and responds to the world. As dedicated as a person can be in trying to solve complex problems and help humanity progress, there is a part of learning that is only acquired from personal experiences.

Tacit knowledge is difficult to codify and transmit through teaching; it needs to be lived. Thus, a high-income white male will often find it difficult to understand the dilemmas faced by women, blacks, and those who face the daily challenges of surviving on a low income.

Of course, this is not to say that they cannot make significant contributions to these groups. However, the central point is that their perception of certain problems will be amplified when we manage to build a more integrated society.

In addition, their preferences may differ from those of other social groups. It is difficult to argue that, on average, high-income white men will give the same weight as minorities to issues that do not directly affect them, such as femicide, sexual harassment, demarcation of indigenous lands, quality public school and health, and violence against blacks and disadvantaged people.

In this context, the expansion of diversity in decision-making spaces will help us to deal more assertively with the problems that afflict the population. A well-managed inclusion process has the potential to become an important driver of social progress and economic prosperity.

In this process, it is essential that we invest in training people so that they acquire greater skills and can respond to the challenges that Brazilian society faces. At the same time, we need to be careful to identify those talents that have been formed and are not finding space due to lack of opportunities.

The text is a tribute to the song “Manda chama”, performed by Griot, with the participation of Roberto Mendes and Tiganá Santana. The video of Griot singing this song, in one of the best shows held at Sesc Pompéia, is available on Youtube.