Thoughts on Danielle Allen's Piece - Eva

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While I'm not sure I agree with Allen's argument on a mathematical fantasy to its full extent I do agree that there is a sort of idealism that a lot of King's arguments carry. When she first addresses the idea of a "mathematical fantasy," she raises the question of what image is evoked by the "I Have a Dream" speech (150). In doing so, she aptly points out the assumption that most of us carry in imagining equal representation - like a checkerboard, as she puts it. I found this section of her argument to be compelling context for the argument she then weaves. She says, "it was never possible for black and white to be, as in King's words, elbow-to-elbow, in the sense of evenly distributed throughout the population," and that this fact (in combination with King's words) creates a mathematical fantasy (151). I was reminded of some of the discussions surrounding college campus diversity in this segment of her writing, as I have heard similar logic used as a defense of a lack of diversity. Although I don't think Allen would agree with that application of her logic, it certainly provides some implications on those topics. When she states, "the gap between reality and the imagined utopia has strained the project of integration," she leads readers to wonder where the line can be drawn (151). 

She argues that by developing an alternative approve to avoid "the problematic fantasy of all of us living continuously elbow-to-elbow with people form different ethnic and social groups," we can also successfully avoid the problems of confusion in setting realistic goals (151). However, I think that in pointing out the shortcomings of this "fantasy," she also creates confusion by raising questions of what goals are realistic or achievable. 

In terms of Allen's  later argument that King's demands can be applied to organizations, I found this one very convincing. She explains that "by pursuing organizational transformation throughout the landscape of civil society, guided by the three principles," we can pursue a "'constructive policy of wholeness'" (157).  After stating this, she provides examples of the university statements, which I found straightforward and easy to align with King's standards. I was also reminded of new initiatives like anti-bias training that seem to relate to her arguments here. Policies along those lines are a step towards King's three principles of 1) well-being, 2) decision participation, and 3) non-injury. 

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