Introduction
The subject of this paper is very much related to the political and social concerns that matter from a global perspective. It is a study of institutional racism and its application in social construction. In this paper, I have tried to elaborate on the idea of institutional racism with three examples taken from different global and political backgrounds. The idea is to make certain realizations for the benefit of understanding this term and the terminology in concern of it. The issues related to racism persist though in a much controlled manner. Some various ways and policies still make racism a matter of discussion under global speculations. There are lots of people and lots of institutions that are working in this field. This paper is thus an attempt to clarify certain points related to the concerned topic.
Defining Institutional Racism
Institutional racism is also considerably called structural racism or systemic racism. It is a kind of racism that refers to a specific occurrence in an institution. It can be very much present in any public body, offices, corporations, schools universities, or any other educational institution. It was a term well coined by Black Panther who was a black nationalist. Later he turned up to be the pan-Africanist and after that the “honorary prime minister” of the Party, at Stokely Carmichael. Richard W. Race recalls that during the late 1960s, Panther defined the term as
“the collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin”.
There is an elaborate discussion over the exploration of this particular term in ‘The Reluctant Welfare State’ by Bruce S. Jansson, (2000). According to his analysis, the matter related to institutional racism is not only is a definite step to place social policy into cultural, political, and societal context but is something that is an amalgamation of all these things and the matters beyond. Jansson discovers all those aspects that were never discussed before in the elaborative study of institutional racism.
The psychological and the discriminating political consequences are well narrated by Jansson. The process is to think very critically about the developments, issues, and all kinds of policies of the past and the latest day. The practices of both yesterday and today were well scrutinized to discover the spread of it. Some aspects are dealt with to check the linking social welfare policy for empowerment. The sources of making it bigger and getting into the matter of empowerment made institutional racism one of the most official discussions on the global ground.
Bruce Jansson’s descriptions are all very minutely discussed. The institutional racist policies according to his inspection are discovered to advocate and susceptible populations. The means are all achieved through progressive reform in the face of adversity that was there in the past and still a part of the social and political phenomenon.
Examples of Colonial Policy
According to Public Policy 1700, there was discrimination in the economics and Public policies based on racial discrimination. The elaborations as has been forwarded from Leeper, Eric M. & Zha, Tao, (2003), there was discrimination in every aspect. The matters related to unemployment strategies and the financial benefits are all allotted to the white people. There was no chance of having economic loans or any sort of economic independence. The government of the US was more concerned about the people who were a part of the racial white community that persisted there during 1673-1700.
The second very common instance was related to the discrimination among the British and Indian Soldiers in India. During the 18th century, the Britishers dominated India and made it its colony. During that period, there were many Indians as a soldier working under the Union Jack. There were all kinds of discrimination between them regarding color. The Indian soldiers were dark brown and so were not facilitated by any medical or political support.
Even they were used more in battles to meet death. There were all kinds of discrimination related to the facilities provided to the soldiers. The Indians soldiers were given less salaries and were deprived of all kinds of facilities for their families.
According to the Peace Treaty of 1763 and the Quebec Act of 1774 in Canada, the white laborers used to get better wages than the people of other complexions especially the black labor. Arrow, Kenneth, (Spring, 1998 pp. 91-100), specified that this was done by the means of adding public and psychological wages to their credit. All these white laborers were freely admitted with all other classes of white people to any gathering or any public functions. They were allowed to public parks and their children were permitted to be in the best education schools.
All these perspectives are not based on isolated, individual, and idiosyncratic conditionings or the beliefs or biases of society and individuals. Rather the initiations are all from the political institutions. Getting all the facilities for being white, getting out of the social security option, or getting no benefits for housing are all simple examples there are more in this section to be counted. Examples from U.S. history are predominantly discussed when it comes to the clarifications related to the nature and all sorts of effects of institutional racism.
Conclusion
According to the definition held by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary (1998 p.563), racism is the primary determinant of all human traits and capabilities. It further states that racial differences are the means to produce inherent superiority in a racial group, and also reflect prejudice with the other communities. America’s social welfare system in particular has got lots of such institutional discriminations. The matter of being multi-cultured and the demands related to equal positioning are all matters of regular controversy. Despite the above-cited examples from the pre-civil war instances, many latest instances are more specific and elaborative even today. The perspectives from political and social groundings are still not very clear and so it is very important to make better analytical surveys for better conditioning.
References
Arrow, Kenneth, (1998 pp. 91-100), What Has Economics to Say About Racial Discrimination?, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol.12, No. 2.
Bruce S. Jansson, 2000, Reluctant Welfare State: American Social Welfare Policies: Past, Present, and Future, Thomson Wadsworth, ISBN-13: 9780534508920.
Merriam Webster (editor), Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10 Rev Ed edition, (Merriam-Webster: 1998).
Leeper, Eric M. & Zha, Tao, 2003. “Modest policy interventions,” Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(8), pages 1673-1700.