Student example:
Positive Good Theory – In Vincent Hardings’ (1942) text, There is a River, the positive good theory asserts that slavery positively impacted enslaved Africans by providing a level of social security (e.g., housing, food, civility, etc.) [Definition]. This became the first pro-slavery argument articulated that did not require biblical reference or citation [Significance]. Moreover, this perspective put forward the perspective of an advantageous Southern Society wherein slavery is defended on the basis of interest convergence, which promoted that everyone, both Black and white persons, benefited from the institution [Significance]. The positive good theory shifts away from marking slavery as a ‘necessary evil’ to it being a positive good for enslaved Africans that was facilitated by benevolent white masters [Change over time]. This theory obfuscates the dehumanizing and brutal nature of chattel slavery [Critique], which I recognize as a gap in the theoretical canon and use to nuance my understanding of slaveholders’ exploitative dependence on racial capitalism to sustain and grow the American economy [Personal understanding].