How False Beliefs About Meritocracy and Post-Racism Have Contributed To Unjust Socio-Economic Policies

Jeffrey Fuhrer joins EconoFact Chats to discuss his new book, The Myth That Made Us: How False Beliefs about Racism and Meritocracy Broke Our Economy (and How to Fix It); highlighting how the unfounded belief that individual success and failure is just a function of hard work, or the lack of it — what he terms ‘the myth’ — has shaped policies and public perceptions in ways that have caused economic harm to millions. Jeff also highlights policies that can help remedy longstanding socio-economic disparities.

 

Jeff served for nearly four decades in the Federal Reserve System, first at the Board of Governors in Washington, DC, followed by more than 25 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Currently, he is a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a Foundation Fellow at the Eastern Bank Foundation.