On The Dual Faces of Racism: What is Racism?
On The Dual Faces of Racism: What is Racism?
Racism is the belief that individuals possess abilities, handicaps, or special characteristics that are linked to their race. Racism sentiments are noxious to a well functioning society because people relate to others based on their racist sentiments. Racist people may deny economic, social, or political opportunities to others based on their race and not their character or aptitude.
For example, countless studies have shown that minorities are discriminated against in the labour market based on their race and not their qualifications. [1] This article is a good example of wage gaps by ethnic origin (as a proxy for race), in the labour markets of France, Germany, and England.
Beyond Economic discrimination, social discrimination is also pervasive. People from other races, are considered less desirable partners. An interesting data crunch from Ok Cupid demonstrates how race affects dating markets. In a world without racial discrimination then race should be irrelevant in the dating market, just like our astrological signs are. At its worse, social discrimination takes violent forms. Most western democracies have experienced violent racial riots in response to emblematic incidents of racial hatred perpetrated by a representative of the government. Of note, the 2005 “civil unrest” in France, the race riots in LA in 1992, the race riots in Brixton UK in 1981, amongst others.
Social discrimination inevitably leads to political discrimination. President Barack Obama’s historic victory is particularly exceptional, as he had to overcome voters concerns about his opponents’ politically motivated charges that America was not prepared to vote for a man of African ancestry. [3]
[1] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2009.02338.x/pdf
[2] http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/your-race-affects-whether-people-write-you-back/
[3] http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/bill-clinton-irritated-by-race-card-questions/
