A nation that once prided itself on a sense of rugged
individualism has become uncomfortably obsessed with racial
group identities.

The collectivist mindset is at the heart of racism.

Government as an institution is particularly ill-suited to
combat bigotry. Bigotry at its essence is a problem of the
heart, and we cannot change people's hearts by passing more
laws and regulations.

It is the federal government that most divides us by race,
class, religion, and gender. Through its taxes, restrictive
regulations, corporate subsidies, racial set-asides, and
welfare programs, government plays far too large a role in
determining who succeeds and who fails. Government
"benevolence" crowds out genuine goodwill by
institutionalizing group thinking, thus making each group
suspicious that others are receiving more of the government
loot. This leads to resentment and hostility among us.

Racism is simply an ugly form of collectivism, the mindset
that views humans strictly as members of groups rather than
as individuals. Racists believe that all individuals who
share superficial physical characteristics are alike: as
collectivists, racists think only in terms of groups. By
encouraging Americans to adopt a group mentality, the
advocates of so-called "diversity" actually perpetuate racism.

The true antidote to racism is liberty. Liberty means having
a limited, constitutional government devoted to the
protection of individual rights rather than group claims.
Liberty means free-market capitalism, which rewards
individual achievement and competence - not skin color,
gender, or ethnicity.

In a free society, every citizen gains a sense of himself as
an individual, rather than developing a group or victim
mentality. This leads to a sense of individual
responsibility and personal pride, making skin color
irrelevant. Racism will endure until we stop thinking in
terms of groups and begin thinking in terms of individual
liberty.