"Race" as a Social Construct
"Race is a social construct."
- history
- hierarchical ranking of classifications
Notes:
No society is composed of genetically “pure” people. In spite of this, members of society tend
to rank themselves into hierarchies based on race with one race assumed to be better than another.
Although traditionally in the US the category white has been ranked higher than black or other
categories, this may be changing as people refuse to designate themselves into a category and
as society itself becomes more multiracial.
Nevertheless, as indicated y the resurgence of ethnic nationalism worldwide and the determined
existence of hate groups in the US, race does still matter. Therefore some understanding of the
social construction of “race” in the US is essential for an understanding of the impact of
events and change.
Historically, 19th century Europeans classified peoples in their colonies into a hierarchy of
categories which placed northern Europeans at the top of a pseudo-evolutionary scale. They saw the
dark,
primitive peoples of the colonies as suitable for enlightenment by the civilized nations
of Europe which often translated into economic and social exploitation and sometimes genocidal
policies.
It is now understood that humans are one species with great phylogenetic variability- we are in
fact one race- human. Groups which want to assert their superiority cling to outmoded ideas
that justify their domination and oppression of others. Placing themselves at the top of an
artificially created evolutionary ladder, these groups assume some predetermined "natural"
hierarchy that places them at the top as the superior race. The idea of race is then used, by
demagogues like David Duke and Pat Buchanan, to divide people and benefit the aspirations of
politicians seeking power. This is often referred to as to "play the race card." This is the
case with the politician rhetoric of fear that focuses on the loss of white power to growing
"hordes" of immigrants h; the ideas of the far right attempt to persuade people that the American
way of life is under threat. Race is used to create fear and hate thus benefiting those who
construct definitions which divide groups from each other and ultimately from their own
humanity.
The text presents information that will help in an understanding of the social construction of
race in the US. As soon as 2050, some demographers predict that "minorities" will
"outnumber"
white Americans or European descent. Why do some groups consider this a threat? What do they fear?
Why do they see the face of the "other" in America’s future? We will attempt to discuss some of
these questions as we focus on this chapter. (See p. 357 in the text.)
Most white power groups hold that African Americans and other groups, with the possible exception
of Asian Americans, are intellectually inferior to whites. The text discusses the question of
race and intelligence on p. 360-361. For an explanation of the the inaccuracies in The Bell Curve,
please see Stephen Jay Gould’s book The Mismeasure of Man.
For a social science perspective on the relationship between race and intelligence see: