Archive for July 6th, 2011
The origins of racism
Posted by John, July 6th, 2011 - under Capitalism, Racism.
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All sorts of prejudices thrived in pre-capitalist societies, such as the ignorance and suspicion of strangers. But racism differs from these.
Racism exists where an entire group of people are systematically discriminated against on the basis of characteristics they are said to share.
In some, but not all, circumstances the group is defined by certain physical characteristics, like skin colour.
The development of such a structured prejudice did not exist prior to capitalism, and a key phase within it—the transatlantic slave trade.