"Perhaps the finest--and certainly the most eloquent--discussion of the dilemma of victimism is Shelby Steele's The Content of Our Character, in which he describes the central tragedy of relations between blacks and whites. While one's victim status confers a sense of moral innocence and entitlement, Steele writes, "it is a formula that binds the victim to his victimization by linking his power to his status as a victim". As potent as victim politics has proved to be, "It is primarily a victim's power, grounded too deeply in the entitlement derived from past injustice . . ."."