2 - Race
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 December 2009
Summary
the subject of this chapter is race, and, in particular, the question of whether or not race is a social construction, a natural category, or both. The debate over the social construction of race is often ignored in works on racism and racial oppression, where it is simply taken for granted that race is a social construct. I think that is a mistake. Arguments over racism and racial equality often proceed as if we all understood what race is, whether it is socially constructed, and why it is important. Yet, this is not true: we do not agree what race is, let alone what significance it might play in our understanding of human life. Although evolutionary genetics has opened the door to the possibility that race is not merely a social construction, some devoutly assume that it is. Social construction even finds its way into definitions of race; many academics who write on racism and racial equality avoid considering the possible biological basis of race. Yet, it is important to respond to racists who abuse arguments about racial differences to defend policies and practices that are incompatible with racial equality. As one African-American economist observed, “If decent people don't discuss human bio-diversity, we concede the turf to black and white racists.”
Is it racist to believe in races?
I have argued that racists believe in the reality of race; if they didn't, then their bigotry would take a different form than racism.
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- Race, Equality, and the Burdens of History , pp. 52 - 88Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007