Tests for unconscious racism will only benefit bureaucrats, says Theodore Dalrymple Psychologists at the London Metropolitan University want to do during the reign of Elizabeth II what Elizabeth I did not desire to do during hers: make windows into men's souls.
They are devising subtle tests to sniff out the hidden racism of job applicants.
Like the esteemed blog owner (sucking noises) writes, it's subliminal racism, you need to be professional to detect it.
They are not looking for the kind of racists who wear their prejudices on their sleeve or, worse, behave in an openly and violently racist way.
They are seeking out those who claim not to be racist yet who hold racial stereotypes in their mind, not even consciously. We are back to the days, it seems, of the witch-hunt and the Inquisition.
There are three assumptions behind the research: first, that the holding of any stereotypes is necessarily based upon prejudice and not upon empirical evidence about real differences between groups; second, that the existence of any kind of stereotype in a person's mind leads directly to bad behaviour; and third, that the prejudice that such stereotyping implies is the worst thing that can befall any group of people.
To stereotype can be destructive, but not to stereotype can be stupid. If you were walking down a dark alley, would you be more worried by an old lady with a Zimmer frame or a couple of young men in hoodies? To walk out into the world without stereotypes is impossible.
Not all stereotypes are bad, nor do all lead to action. The idea that they must do so is to undermine a belief in the capacity of people to exercise self-control.
Finally, it might even be that the existence of mild prejudice against groups, far from inhibiting their efforts, actually spurs them to achievement.
The beneficiaries of the research will not be minorities, of course, but the people who administer the tests. How pleasant and profitable to be the moral arbiters of employment!