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Race, Class, and Law in a Capitalist Democracy: Flowchart

Note: to fully comprehend this flowchart you must consult the online Glossary of Select Course-related Terms/Phrases (also available here). Bolded terms are defined in the glossary.

Capitalism and class We live in a capitalist society, which not only means that we are governed, as in ALL capitalist societies, by a social structure that is class-based (meaning a hierarchic division of society by class; that is, the wealthy at the top and the poor at the bottom with everyone else in-between in a hierarchic continuum in terms of economic power, political power, access to resources, and so on), but there is an inherent objectively-determined opposition of class interests that finds expression, in almost all spheres of society—political, economic, social, etc.—in the form of a permanent class warfare, and its corollary class struggle, inflicted by the capitalist class on the working classes.

Democracy We also live in a society that supposedly champions procedural democracy (e.g. bill of rights) and authentic democracy (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which is generally covered by the public wage) which leads to this conundrum: How can the capitalist class—today dominated by transnational monopoly corporations—retain its hegemony in this capitalist democracy (so as to ensure that there is no interruption to their profit-driven accumulation activities as a consequence of resistance from the working classes played out through overt and covert class struggles)?

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Capitalist solution Call upon the long and enduring history of the racialization of the U.S. political economy where on the basis of the ideology of the Other, new racial categories of “white” versus “black” were artificially constructed by erasing within each group, through politics and law, their internal historically-rooted ethnic-based cultural/linguistic differences and then convincing the majority (the white working classes) to believe in the “property value” of whiteness—meaning the belief that the mere possession of white skin color entitles one to more than is available to a person of a different skin color (a form of affirmative action for whites in all spheres of life). Remember, prior to the Columbian Project, there were no whites or blacks, there were only the English, the French, the Spanish, the Wampanoag, the Choctaw, the Creek, the Lakota, the Igbo, the Mende, the Mandinka, the Akan, the Han, the Berbers, the Gujarati, and so on. (Note: even those Euro-Americans who believe they are not racist will often succumb, albeit subconsciously, to the ideology of whiteness, such is its power.)

Racialization of the political economy Involves/involved the manufacture/perpetration of a number of interrelated variants of racism, depending upon time and place: (1) Dominative racism (e.g. slavery) (2) Aversive racism (e.g. residential segregation) Note: to get a sense of how aversive racism is expressed in daily life today observe which skin color makes you “uncomfortable” in an elevator, when talking to a person in public (but not in private), when sitting to eat in a cafeteria, when sitting next to a person on a bus, when keeping a door open for someone, when introducing someone to your parents, and so on. (3) Institutional racism (e.g. “color-blind” racism) (4) Juridical racism (e.g. Jim Crow)

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Specific capitalist functions of the racialization of the political economy

(1) Scapegoating of minorities: Helps to maintain political and economic stability by using racial/ethnic minorities as scapegoats for the severe problems that the activities of the capitalist classes as a whole produce: mass unemployment, falling standards of living, environmental destruction, scarcity of resources, etc. Racism, expressed through the ideology/practices of whiteness, helps to deflect resistance and rebellion away from the capitalist class and the capitalist system. (2) Direct exploitation of minorities: through measures such as enslavement (in the past), low wages, dispossession of their lands, etc. (3) Fragmentation of the working classes (divide and rule): Historically, and up to the present, racism has been one of the most important tools used in this country to “buy” the allegiance of white workers by capitalists. By allowing white workers to exchange their whiteness for a few privileges, the capitalist classes have kept all working classes from demanding a fundamental change to the entire political and economic system for the benefit of all. Racism, by means of the ideology of the Other, creates an us versus them mentality, whereas genuine progress toward the creation of a democratic society is only possible under conditions of cooperation and mutual respect among the working classes (who together form the majority).

Class consciousness The racialization of the political economy facilitates the obliteration of class consciousness (awareness of one's class position and interests) through subjectification of these interests (e.g. one's skin color becomes more important than such matters as jobs, health, education, etc. when voting) by subscription to racist beliefs (e.g. racist stereotypes) and racist practices (discrimination).

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Class warfare/ Class struggle Consequences: class warfare perpetrated on the working classes in order to maintain social control, decrease the public wage, enhance capitalist accumulation, and of course squelch any resistance (class struggle) from the working classes.

The State and Law Effect of this class struggle and class warfare: a perpetual assault on procedural democracy, which involves harnessing the powers of the State, including law, in this effort.

Quality of life Effect of this warfare: a perpetual assault on the quality of life by subverting authentic democracy (e.g. diminution of the public wage)

Income gap Symptomatic of this assault on the quality of life is the ever widening income gap between the capitalist class and the working classes NOT attributable to the logic of capitalism (meritocracy)—e.g. through manipulation of taxes

Alienation Creates frustration, disillusionment, and alienation among the working classes—including the white working class.

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Back to square one The cycle begins again through subjectification of objective interests. As a consequence, they seek refuge in racism (whiteness) which permits scapegoating (psychic satisfaction) and slightly bigger crumbs from the table of the capitalist class—e.g. first hired, last fired.