Racial capitalism
Learning goals
What is racial capitalism? How does the process of capitalist exploitation intersect with racism and the hierarchies generated by the processes of racialisation? This material will help us identify the racist and ‘racial’ dimension that permeates capitalist dynamics, both internationally – the hierarchies between countries in the dynamics of production and offshoring, the generation of climate and environmental consequences, and in migration possibilities – and internally – the racialised division of labour and the denial of rights.
With the collaboration of:
KNOWLEDGE
– Learn how capitalism and racism are interrelated, and how the capitalist exploitation system is founded on categories generated by the processes of racialisation and its resulting hierarchies.
– Understand the origins of racial capitalism, its contemporary manifestations, and its social consequences.
Skills
– Analyse how mutual interdependence is constructed between the capitalist system and the hierarchies that result from processes of racialisation, how that mutual interdependence evolves, and what its impact and effects are.
– Apply an intersectional perspective to analysing these processes.
ATTITUDES
– Show curiosity and a critical attitude towards racial capitalism, its operational dynamics and its consequences.
– Be committed to promoting equality, social cohesion, access to rights, and fighting against racism and different forms of discrimination.
Mutant Racism and ‘Racial Regimes’
Racial categories, and especially the processes of racialisation that generate them, have historically played, and continue to play, a central role in the development of global capitalism. They are not merely remnants of a bygone era that will gradually disappear. Racialisation remains a fundamental pillar in the functioning of the contemporary capitalist economy, not only in relation to how the labour markets operate, but also to the financialisation of the economy, its platformisation, police surveillance and the prison system, and also global migration regimes and environmental colonialism.