Keeping things simple works against attending to a plethora of differences which
would cast doubt on ‘‘one size fits all’’ policies. It favors attributing to apparently
similar verbal or physical acts a standard meaning, and similar intent and affect. It is
far easier to treat all welfare recipients as having similar views of work, or allMuslims
as having similar notions of what being a ‘‘good Muslim’’ entails. It is far easier to
interpret the reasons for poor grades by African-American males as following from
factors which would account for poor grades by Caucasian or Asian males.