Paved With Good Intentions: The Failure of Race Relations in Contemporary America [Paperback]

Jared Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993

Taylor believes that racism has declined dramatically in virtually all areas of American life, yet an enormous body of policy and opinion rests on the belief that American society is relentlessly prejudiced. "The most important book on the subject of race for many years".--National Review.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Arguing that white racism is more an excuse for black failure than an explanation, Taylor ( Shadows of the Rising Sun: A Critical View of the Japanese Miracle ) challenges racial orthodoxies, but with very limited success. Ranging through studies and press accounts, Taylor effectively catalogues numerous black excesses in the name of solidarity (such as jurors' defenses of former D.C. mayor Marion Barry, ultimately convicted of one charge--possession of cocaine--of 14 brought against him); he notes that blacks commit far more interracial violent crimes than whites do; he criticizes "race-norming" in employment tests; and he dissects studies concluding that police are more likely to shoot blacks (instances of shootings, he argues, are in fact proportionate to arrests for violent crime). But Taylor, who is white, too easily dismisses the notion of institutional racism; he simplistically argues that Asian achievements prove that American racism is not so great an obstacle to success; and he can't understand the role of black-only organizations. Arguing that the problem of the underclass is mainly a moral one, Taylor disregards economics. Instead, he calls for get-tough police practices, favors mandatory, no-appeal death sentences for drug dealers and suggests that to combat "reckless procreation" the government should require female welfare recipients to use the contraceptive Norplant. His blurred distinctions between the "underclass" and blacks reveal his biases.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Jared Taylor born in Japan, where he lived until age sixteen. He received a BA in Philosophy from Yale University in 1973 and an MA in international economics from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris in 1978. He is the editor of American Renaissance and the author of the following books:

Shadows of the Rising Sun: A Critical View of the Japanese Miracle (William Morrow & Co., 1983, 336 pp.)

The Tyranny of the New and Other Essays (Kinseido Publishing, Tokyo, 1992, 89pp.)

The Real American Dilemma, Editor (New Century Books, 1998, 144 pp.)

A Race Against Time: Racial Heresies for the 21st Century (New Century Books, 2003, 347 pp.) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786700254
• ISBN-13: 978-0786700257
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #878,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jared Taylor was born in Japan, where he lived until he was 16 years old. He has a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Yale University and a master's degree in international economics from l'Institut d' Etudes Politiques de Paris.

He has worked as an international lending office for a major New York bank and as a consultant to companies doing business in Japan. For three yeas he was the West Coast Editor of PC (Personal Computing) Magazine, and has published articles and essays in the following publications:

Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Washington Star, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, National Review, Chronicles.

Since 1994, Jared Taylor has been the president of New Century Foundation, which publishes American Renaissance, a monthly magazine devoted to issues of race and immigration (AmRen.com).

He is the author of the following books:

Shadows of the Rising Sun: A Critical View of the Japanese Miracle, 1983, 336 pp., William Morrow & Co.

Paved With Good Intensions: The Failure of Race Relations in Contemporary America, 1992, 416 pp., Carol and Graf (now part of Avalon Publishing).

The Tyranny of the New and Other Essays, 1992, Kinseido Publishers (Tokyo), 89 pp.

White Identity: Racial Consciousness in the 21st Century, 2011, New Century Books, 344 pp.

Jared Taylor lives with his family in northern Virginia near Washington, DC.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

128 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Publishers' Weekly Lies, May 5, 2003

By 

C. Chow (Leesburg VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paved With Good Intentions: The Failure of Race Relations in Contemporary America (Hardcover)

I would simply like to clarify the [editorial] Weekly review on this website. Amazon shoppers beware the reviewer never bothered to read this book.

I've read this book threee times, it's pure gold. Nowhere does Taylor mention anything about death sentences for drug dealers or anything about no appeal death sentences....

Talyor also does not ignore the claim of "insitutional racism." He addresses it in great detail showing how its proponants offer on evidence to back it up. Taylor does not just blame black for their problems as [the review] sugests. Taylor simply asks for people of all colors to take responsibility.

The...review is erronous. Amazon.com shopper deserve better.

77 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars To an Open Dialogue on Race, June 22, 2002

By 

Jeffrey Leach (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paved With Good Intentions: The Failure of Race Relations in Contemporary America (Hardcover)

This book is one of many that emerged in the early to mid-1990s concerning issues of political correctness, race, and immigration. I read several of these books; Dinesh DSouza and Martin Gross are the first that come to mind. David Horowitz is another who covers these issues in some of his writings. These books are still important because even though we dont hear about these issues as much today, they are even now stalking the American landscape. Jared Taylors book seems to be the best one I have read to date. Paved with Good Intentions, written in 1991, is Taylors manifesto on the corrosive and divisive issue of race relations in modern America.

Paved with Good Intentions is not a racist tract, but is a calm, expertly documented approach to the race question. Taylor writes with neutral reasoning as he covers every aspect of the problem. Taylors purpose is not to denounce blacks and other minority groups, but rather to open a dialogue on an issue that threatens to destroy the country. I dont think anyone denies that race is a big problem in America. Taylor explains that this is the result of obfuscation by guilty whites, fast buck hustlers, and misguided do-gooders who have more to gain from racial tension than peace.

Some of things you will discover while reading this book:

Crime: blacks commit the vast majority of crime, with most of the crimes directed towards other blacks. Far more racial crimes occur when blacks victimize whitesespecially rape, which is overwhelming black against white. The media tends to play up crimes where the perpetrator is white and the victim black, while downplaying (or just plain ignoring) racial crimes committed by blacks against whites.

Affirmative action is bad: economic policy favors minorities and excludes whites. Minorities get breaks in education, business, housing, hiring, and a host of other areas. Instead of raising the living standards of blacks, affirmative action has worked to instill in blacks a hatred of whites, while making little difference in the lives of many poor blacks. Schools exclude better qualified whites in preference for minority students. Many of the under qualified students end up dropping out of school when they discover they lack the necessary skills to compete. Entrance tests to schools and jobs have been altered, or dumbed down, in an effort to raise test scores. This occurs in important occupations (police, firefighting) where the best people are needed, but are not getting the jobs.

Racism: there is a constant cry of racism over the most ridiculous issues. Like Peter and the Wolf, these constant cries desensitize the public and cost minorities credibility. Taylor does an excellent job revealing the truth about racism, namely, that it doesnt exist in the levels that it once did. The claim of institutional racism is shown to be a falsehood, to say the least. Taylor shows that government agencies employ a large percentage of blacks, which are unlikely to engage in any sort of institutional racist programs. Claims that AIDS or drugs are a racist conspiracy by whites to destroy blacks are equally fallacious. According to Taylor, if whites are so bent on destroying blacks, why would they waste time using methods that cause harm to the white community? Why would they waste billions of dollars to improve minority positions in society?

Jared Taylor doesnt hate minorities. His writing shows a real concern for these issues. He seems to want a return to Martin Luther Kings idea of a colorblind society, an idea that is subverted daily by those who seek to profit from racial animosity. Until an open, honest dialogue emerges, these problems will only get worse. I think for many people really dont understand the full picture when it comes to this issue. Books like this could open eyes when voters find out what the politicians are really up to in Washington. I recommend this book to those amongst us who have an open mind, and to those who want to start thinking for themselves.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A COURAGEOUS LOOK AT AN OFTEN INTIMIDATING SUBJECT, October 5, 2000

By 

Trent K. Rollow (Seal Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paved With Good Intentions: The Failure of Race Relations in Contemporary America (Paperback)

Jared Taylor has taken sober aim at one of this country's most intractible social ills: the dissonance between justice and equality in a free society. Too often, our system is found to be badly out of focus with regard to fairness as well as fact. Mr. Taylor skillfully documents this time and again with failure after failure on the part of the "equality of opportunity" industry, academia, government, workplace, and media. Still, as Mr. Taylor mentions in the introduction, this is a hopeful book, replete with honest conclusions and recommendations in a cogent epilougue.

This book will sadden, shock, infuriate, and validate many a reader. More still will be called to examine the myths of the so-called civil rights movement as it currently exists in America. It is often unpleasant reading, but paradoxically it is a page-turner; the truth often has this quality about it. I recommended this book to all my friends upon finishing it. Even if you are a dyed in the wool liberal (or perhaps especially if you are) you owe it to yourself to read this book.

I'm saddened by the difficulty Mr. Taylor has encountered in publishing and selling this book. Perhaps America is not ready for the truth in such a straightforward way as it is presented here. This is truly a visionary work.