Capitalism and Racism in Past and Present Report (Assessment)

Introduction

Racial concerns and debates regularly emerge in the United States. Despite the intention to create an equal society and support all citizens, many problems and questions remain poorly addressed. The creation of the Black Lives Matter movement, unstable community-police relationships, and the inability to manage racial discrimination prove that American people need more changes at different organizational levels. People from various spheres are interested in contributing to the evaluation of the situation and sharing their opinions about racial capitalism that came from Europe and continues challenging America today. Racism includes social and economic inequalities due to racial identity and is represented through dispossession, colonialism, and slavery in the past and lynching, criminalization, and incarceration in the present. This paper aims to explore how racial capitalism, which originated in Europe, penetrates Americans and affects Black lives. Robin Kelley, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, William Du Bois, and other activists offer strong arguments and campaigns to predict the development of the worst scenario for racially abused Americans. Racial capitalism is not just police or social inequality and injustice but a number of positive and negative interpersonal relationships determined by slavery, violence, and wars.

Racial Capitalism

The concept of racial capitalism is relatively new in American society. Cedric Robinson introduced it at the end of the 1980s to criticize political order and leadership authority (Kelly). During the last several centuries, people from different parts of the world have taken multiple steps to prove the importance of freedom and equality in society. However, instead of promoting liberty, it seems that governments prefer to replace some words and change their meanings. For example, slavery is no longer present in the United States, but more than 25% of the world’s population are imprisoned in American jails (“13th”). Prison and police have become the easiest industrial complex to solve various social problems (“Ruth Wilson Gilmore makes a case for Abolition”). These facts and observations prove that racism was not removed or resolved as a problem but re-evaluated through the prism of capitalism. European colonial aggrandizement shows how black-and-white relationships are developed, considering Europe as white and the world as black (Du Bois 23). Thus, racial capitalism is not an outcome or a solution for Americans but a sentence according to which millions of people have to live.

Forms of Racial Inequality

Most people prefer to recognize racism as a form of the unequal relationship between people based on racial or ethnic concerns. Yet, the spread of racial capitalism proves that many additional aspects may affect society. European examples and experiences demonstrate how such processes as dispossession, colonialism, and slavery established and defined human life quality. According to Kelley, some conspiracies always justified slavery and dispossession as a significant part of Western feudal society. Robinson explained European radicalization as a colonial process in the past that turned into nationalism in the present (qtd. in Kelley). Although this tendency was not effective, it was inevitable because society was in need of changes, and the government could allow those steps only. As a result, many individuals had no guarantees about their future and the possibility of protecting their property. It was not racism but capitalism that created additional grounds for inequality and injustice.

Another form of racial capitalism that could not be ignored in the 18^th and 19^th centuries was colonialism. In Robinson’s research, colonial processes varied from new settlements, multiple invasions, and reasonable and unreasonable expropriation to racial hierarchy and wars (qtd. in Kelley). German colonization was harsh and brutal in relation to native citizens and innocent people. Regarding the current state of affairs and racially-based principles, all those lessons and mistakes were not enough to make the right judgments and promote equal and fair treatment in society.

Finally, interpersonal relationships are constantly analyzed, addressing the impact of slavery and its abolishment according to the 13^th amendment. It is hard to understand when slavery was initiated, but the desire to use someone’s abilities and strengths to achieve personal or public benefits has been observed since ancient times. Human freedoms were challenged in different ways, and people could do nothing to resist or avoid punishment. Rebellions, wars, and military conflicts within states or entire countries grew, which resulted in the Civil War and the creation of the 13^th amendment at the end of the 19^th century (“13th”). Slavery was officially over, but radical capitalism grew and strengthened its impact from new perspectives.

Consequences of Racial Capitalism

When official freedoms and rights were approved, it was hard to achieve a mutual understanding because new problems occurred. Instead of slavery and colonization, new rules and principles were promoted. The amendment supported human rights, but the same idea was not applied to criminalized individuals. Thus, the rise of police powers and prisons was noticed. Black people were arrested even for minor crimes (loitering or vagrancy) and were obliged to work for the country to rebuild the economy and cover the losses in different spheres (“13th”). It became clear that blackness, not crime, was condemned and reasoned for inequality and biases (Du Bois 20). Even today, similar judgments challenge society and create additional grounds for punishment and imprisonment. A terrible example was introduced by Wells when a white man was shot by a black one (3). All blacks in the neighborhood got hunted and judged as criminals. Although lynching and incarceration were not regular in the region, it was approved as a matter of justice for the white population, provoking anger and violence (Wells 5). The resistance was impossible due to the power of radical capitalism that had never disappeared.

Racism and capitalism co-exist and increase the impact on citizens’ relationships. People observe how brutal and unfair policing, which was created to support them and maintain public order, could be. Police impunity is devastating, especially when powers are used to harm and kill Black people (“Ruth Wilson Gilmore makes a case for Abolition”). In addition to George Floyd, Oscar Grant, and Botham Jean, the name of Recy Taylor should be mentioned to prove white violence and black struggles. Her story shows how the dehumanization of black females spreads in American society (McDonald). Not all rapes and mockeries are officially reported, and many women had to hide their problems and bad experiences not to be judged or misunderstood. Besides, employment and educational concerns bother many Americans today because of the existing absolutism (Wynter 66). If imperial wars and military conflicts due to racism are over, it does not mean that all problems have been resolved.

Conclusion

Racial capitalism is a current burden that defines American life quality from multiple perspectives. Regarding the historical overview and experiences of slavery, wars, and conflicts, it is necessary to find a solution and protect innocent citizens. It is not enough to abolish slavery but encourage incarceration or forget about colonization and justify lynching and black dehumanization. Not many people are ready to talk about their problems out loud, and all those killings, rapes, shortages, and anti-racial initiatives prove that racism exists in the United States and is nourished by European capitalism, increasing the impact of social injustice, racial inequality, and human violence.

Works Cited

“13th.” YouTube, uploaded by Netflix, 2020, Web.

Du Bois, William Edward Burghardt. Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil. Dover Publications, 1999.

Kelley, Robin D. G. “What Did Cedric Robinson Mean by Racial Capitalism?” Boston Review, Web.

McDonald, Soraya Nadia. “‘The Rape of Recy Taylor’ Explores the Little-Known Terror Campaign Against Black Women.” The Undefeated, Web.

“Ruth Wilson Gilmore makes a case for Abolition.” The Intercept, 2020, Web.

Wells, Ida B. Lynching at the Curve. Web.

Wynter, Sylvia. “No Humans Involved: An Open Letter to My Colleagues.” Forum N. H. I. Knowledge for the 21^st Century, vol. 1, no. 1, 1994, pp. 42-73.