>>> Yoshie Furuhashi writes
No doubt the above and other things that get Wojtek exasperated contribute to the resurgent popularity of the 'biological inferiority' thesis, the wretched 'IQ' debate, and so on. But I think that empty formalism, the publishing industry's need for a profitable Kulturekampf, etc. are minor factors.
With the hegemony of neoliberalism and the severe erosion of what little elements of the 'welfare state' that the USA has ever developed, the ruling class in America is in need of a new emphasis on geneticism and biologism. Blacks in America have become refigured within the ruling ideology, from the unworthy clients of costly social services to the targets of outright repression. Before neoliberalism and while the 'welfare state' was still in place, 'black inferiority' was figured by the ruling ideology as a matter of environment, culture, etc. and thought of as susceptible to interventions by the state. Now that the agenda of capital is different, the environmental or cultural explanations have become inadequate for the ruling class. The argument that biology is destiny is far more consnant with the reliance upon more overt and direct repression + social control of those who cannot be even admitted to the regular labor market.>>>
I believe Yoshie's explanation of the resurgence of academic, pseudo-biological racism is substantially correct. To speculate in extension of her comment, if the liberal anti-discrimination reforms which were established in response to the demands of the Black Freedom movement of the 50's through 70's -affirmative action, an extent of anti-racist ideology somewhat hegmonic in a significant mass of the white population etc.- had been allowed to remain in place, racism would have been drastically abated after some years or decades. This would be the death knell of capitalism in the U.S., ending the main division of the working class. Reaganism had as a main element the defeat of this reform drift. Reaganite racism has as a distinguishing characteristic a demogogic use of the factual trend of diminishining racism(which I describe above) by claiming that racism has already been eradicated. This is taken even further to claim that reverse discrimination is now as much or more of a problem as "straightup"discrimination.
David Duke, the Neo-Nazi/kkk leader, used anti-affirmative action as the main plank in his campaign for governor of Louisiana in the 80's ( He got 40%). From the fascist to the crypto-fascist to the conservative right affirmative action was and is the main factual hook for reverse discrimination and Blacks -as -now -privileged -over- whites demogogy. This probably explains in part why some big corporations favored it in the California Initiative vote last year. The myth that reverse discrimination is now more the problem and its logic is critical to maintaining the last (?) type of racism, which Reaganite racism the big bourgeoisie must have to rule in America.
Charles Brown