On racial ideology and its sources

Carrol Cox cbcox at rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu
Mon Jul 6 07:42:55 PDT 1998


Chuck Grimes writes:

<<On Carrol Cox's posts on racism as ideology.

It should be mentioned that racism as an ideology historically co-evolved with European nationalisms and colonialism, particularly the Protestant branch of this capitalist expansion (English and Dutch) during and after the Reformation.[SNIP]>>

The title of the Fields article is "Slavery, Race and Ideology in THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA." I am concerned with U.S. racism, its sources (past and present), and the political responses it requires. I think it is at best convenient slang to speak of "Racism (in general)," at worst a corruption of thought by the Platonism which hides behind almost all forms of bourgeois thought (including those that advertise themselves as anti-Platonic). There are only *racisms*. Generalizations from the racism of one region (political or economic) are always to be viewed with caution.

The most obvious analogue to U.S. racism is that suffered by the Irish under British rule. I don't think it offers (for example) many analogoies to Australian racism directed against the native population there. One of the major points about any ideology is its intimate relation to daily life.

Carrol



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