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'Race', Racism and Anti-racism: Challenging Contemporary Classifications Alana Lentin
Online publication date: 25 August 2010
To cite this Article Lentin, Alana(2000) ''Race', Racism and Anti-racism: Challenging Contemporary Classifications', Social Identities, 6: 1, 91 — 106 To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/13504630051372 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504630051372
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Social Identities, Volume 6, Number 1, 2000
‘Race’, Racism and Anti-racism: Challenging Contemporary Classications ALANA LENTIN European University Institute
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ABSTRACT: This paper argues for the revisiting of classicatory concepts currently in use in the study of ‘race’, racism and anti-racism. It examines the proposition that racis racistt movem movemen ents ts no longe longerr prom promote ote discr discrimin iminati ation on on the groun grounds ds of a belie belieff in biological differences but espouse a ‘differentialist’ racism based on a conviction in the xity of culture, paradoxically ‘borrowed’ from culturally relativist anti-racist arguments. A critique critique of the different differentialis ialistt thesis thesis devel developed oped by Pierre-A Pierre-Andr ndree´ Taguieff Taguieff is presented based upon the writings of Etienne Balibar and Paul Gilroy. The former, by grounding modern racism in the ideological universalism of the European Enlightenment project, argues that the apportioning of blame to anti-racism for abetting the advent of culturalist racism is unhelpfully conceived from a perspective which seeks to deny the legitimacy of black and ethnic minority led alliances as a basis for anti-racist struggles. The novel connection is made between these arguments and those of Paul Gilroy (1998) who proposes the redundancy of the term ‘race’, even from pragmatist perspectives, in the revitalisation of anti-racism as a viable opposition to contemporary racist discourses. The argument is made that in order to dissect normative understandings ings of ‘rac ‘race’ e’ it is nece necess ssar aryy to follo follow w the the hist histor oric ical al traje traject ctor oryy take taken by raci racism sm in becoming an inextricable component of the modern project. Anti-racism, thus, must be seen seen as a multi-l multi-lay ayer ered ed coni conict ct and, and, ther theref efor ore, e, separ eparate ate from from its anti-fa anti-fasc scist ist,, antianticolonialist, leftist and institutionalised forms. Evidence from recent interviews with anti-ra anti-racis cistt activ activists ists points points to their their rejec rejection tion of both both ‘cultu ‘cultura ralist list’’ and and ‘biolog ‘biologica ical’ l’ approaches to racism and towards broad alliances of community-led activists against overt but also covert, institutionalised racist discrimination. Introduction
The last deca decade de in socio sociolo log gy an and d pol politic itical al scie science nce ha hass wi witn tness esseed a risi rising predominance of themes in ethnicity and identity as explanations both for the unprecedented explosion of ethnic conict in Europe post-1989 and for what Billig (1995) terms ‘banal nationalism’, a paradoxical increase in the importance of a comm commun unaal belo belong ngin ing g based based on cult cultu ural here heredi dity ty in an age age seemi seeming ngly ly dened dened by cross-na cross-nati tion onaal comm commun uniicati catio on and know knowle ledge dge of the the Othe Other. r. A concomitant debate in political philosophy has evolved, particularly in North America, between liberals and communitarians, an issue largely forced by the challenges challenges and oppositions oppositions embedded embedded in the ‘multicul ‘multicultural turality’ ity’ (Anthias, (Anthias, 19 1997) 97) of contemporary western societies. 1350-4630 1350-4630 Print/136 Print/1363-0296 3-0296 On-line/00/01 On-line/00/01009 0091-1 1-166
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In contrast, the discussion of ‘race’ has not gured as prominently in this compl complex ex of ‘hot’ ‘hot’ sociol sociolog ogic ical al,, poli politi tica call and philosop hilosophic hicaal curren currents. ts. Whilst Whilst ‘raci ‘racism’ sm’ is sti still righ rightl tly y rega regarded rded as an im impo port rtaant so sour urcce of in insti stitu tuti tion onal allly and individually based discrimination in contemporary western societies, this appe appears ars to be due to the the very very centra centrali lity ty of ethni ethnici city ty and the the accom accomp panying anying nee need to expl explaain the persi ersist steence nce of ‘et ‘ethni hnic tensi tensio ons’ in so soci cieetie ties tha that, at lea least theo theore reti tica callly, ly, have have mo move ved d towards owards a ‘pol ‘politic iticss of reco recogni gniti tion on’’ (Tayl (Taylor, or, 1994). In a normative sense, then, while ‘race’ can no longer be used as a categorisation of human groups, it is understood that rac ism aficts members of ethnic thnic mi minori noritty commu communit nitiies whose whose diffe differe rence nce we no longe longerr descri describe be in racia raciall or biol biolog ogic ical al terms. terms. It ma may y be argue argued d that that a probl problem emat atisa isati tion on of such such classic classicato atory ry catego categories ries leads, leads, unhelp unhelpful fully, ly, to a discussio discussion n based based merely merely on semantics. However, the introduction of the concept of ‘racialisation’ (Balibar and Wallerstein, 1991) to refer to the discrimination of groups and individuals on the the basis basis of perce perceiived racial racial attri attribu bute tess is useful useful in pinp pinpoi oint nting ing racism racism’s ’s targets. Nevertheless, such a terminological discussion evades the very serious issue that the demise in importance of discussions of ‘race’ and racism — in any sense sense ot othe herr than than the the heu heuristi risticc — poses oses to the the buil buildi ding ng of socio sociolo logi gica call theory grounded in a commitment to anti-racism at a time when concomitant racist discourses appear to have advanced signicantly and in a sophisticated manner. Regardless of academia’s desire to move beyond ‘race’ and racism, the last decade has witnessed both an increase in the observable forms of racism and a re-analysis of the prevalent discourses characterising its self-understanding (Taguieff, 1990). In contrast, anti-racism as a viable movement is perceived to be subsum subsumed ed by crisis crisis (Gi (Gilro lroy, y, 19 1992 92), ), lack lacking ing unity, unity, workab workable le strate strategy gy and public support. Both are shaped by the realities of societies characterised by a general fragmentation of the symbolic cultural modes guiding the life structures of their populations, an increase in an immigration no longer categorised as guest labour and a dismantling of welfare systems. The increasing ‘multiculturality’ of western societies is accompanied by a parallel inability to effectively deal with its inevitable consequences — the racist discrimination of ethnically or ‘racially’ different minorities, who highlight the alterity between the dominant and subordinate groups inherent in today’s nation state. Two seemingly conicting processes are at work in this context. On the one hand, contempor contemporary ary western western societ societie iess are perce perceived ived as being being multic multicul ultura tural, l, a state state acti active vely ly promot romoted ed by the medi mediaa and adverti dvertising sing in indust dustrie ries, s, through hrough popular music and other cultural forms: diverse, dynamic and positive. On the other hand, multiculturalism has been a liberal public policy, emerging from North America, replacing assimilative strategies and emphasising the preservati vation on of cult cultu ural differ differen ence. ce. Mul Multicu ticult ltu uralism ralism in this this latt latter er fo form rm has been been criticised (see Jakubowicz, 1984; Anthias, 1997; Parekh, 1993) for establishing a clear separation between the domain of the public and that of the private by concentrating on culture as the main determinant of difference and neglecting the the struc structu tura rall na natu ture re of raci racism sm an and d ethno thnoce cent ntri rism. sm. Seen Seen in this this ligh lightt, the the mult multic icu ultura lturall environ nvironme ment nt perceiv erceived, ed, by som some, e, as posi ositi tive velly dive diverse rse or, or, by othe others, rs, as a ‘solu ‘solution tion’’ to the socia sociall probl problem emss brou brought about bout by im immi migra grati tion on
‘Race’, Racism and Anti-racism: Challenging Contemporary Classications 93 leads leads to the marginalisation marginalisation and de-politi de-politicisatio cisation n of the disproportionat disproportionatee power relations in dominant-subordinate group interactions. A discussion of the contemporary relevance of racism and anti-racism needs to address the context in which they are played out. Racism and discrimination should be brought back to the domain of the political but this cannot be done withou without atte attenti ntion on to context contextua uall transforma transformatio tions ns — partic particula ularly rly in the the urban environment where racism and anti-racism are most often fashioned. Racism, the possibilities for anti-racism, and the overall atmosphere of multiculturalism must each be re-analysed in a context in which visible cultural differences, in their discourses if not in every day reality, become more important than ever before in the search for identities. In this paper I will argue that to understand the crisis faced by anti-racism as a movement in Europe at the turn of the millennium, three steps should be taken. 1 1 0 2
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Closer attention should be paid to contemporary discourses that propose the advent of a ‘new’, ‘culturalist’ or ‘second degree’ racism in light of the extent to which these arguments posit an antagonistic relationship between postwar racism and an anti-racism described as facilitating the former’s increasing acceptability. In respo response nse to this this appro pproac ach h that that seeks seeks to pin the the bla blame fo forr new new raci racist st discou discourse rsess on the the fail failure uress of the the an anti ti-ra -raci cism sm mo move veme ment nt,, the centr central alit ity y of racism to the evolution of the European nation state and to the development of universalist ideologies about ‘general ideas of man’ should be examined. Lastly, I will suggest that the use of ‘race’ as a critical concept can no longer assist in ghting racism, antisemitism and xenophobia.
In expl explorin oring g thes thesee thre threee point ointss I wi willl emph emphas asise ise the the wo work rk of thre threee key key autho authors: rs: PierrePierre-Andre Andre´ Taguie Taguieff, ff, Etienne Etienne Balibar Balibar and Paul Paul Gil Gilroy roy.. I will will pay most attention to Balibar’s response to Taguieff’s proposal of a ‘neo’ or ‘second degree’ racism and propose the existence of a continuum between the work of Bali Balibar bar and that that of Gi Gilr lroy oy.. My obj objective ctive is to sho show w ho how w the these impor mporta tant nt contributions can be drawn upon in an attempt to theorise anti-racist potential. The development of these arguments in greater detail will lead me to the proposal that a reformulation of anti-racism as a viable form of collective action may take the form of the inter-ethnic alliances beginning to emerge in Europe that seek to go beyond identity politics. To highlight the signicance of these new developments, I will draw on some examples from my own research in progress of European anti-racist movements. Recent interviews with anti-racist acti activi vist stss in the the Uni United ted King Kingdo dom m 1 reve reveal aled ed that that alli allian ances ces acros acrosss diffe different rent minori mi noritty ethni ethnicc an and d racia raciallised ised group groupss as well well as cross-na cross-nati tiona onall conta contact ctss are incre increasi asingl ngly y im impo porta rtant nt for strengt strengthe heni ning ng the the anti anti-raci -racist st message message.. This This is of particular importance at a time of enhanced activity around the introduction of racist asylum and immigration legislation across the European Union. Contemporary Racisms and the Centrality of Culture
Contemporary Contemporary western societies societies have become increasingly increasingly multi-ethnic, multi-ethnic, leadlead-
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ing to the the pop popular ular percep ercepti tion on based based on observa observati tion onss of large large cosmop cosmopol olit itaan cities (such as London, Paris or Amsterdam) that cultural diversity is a fully acce accept pted ed phen phenom omeeno non. n. For For thi this reas reason on the the persi persist steence nce of raci racism sm and the the succe success ss in vario variou us coun countr trie iess of far-r far-rig ight ht wi wing ng parti arties es with with a stron strong g an anti ti-immi im migra grant nt ma mani nife festo sto is of signi signica cant nt conce concern. rn. It is agai against nst this this setti setting ng that writers such as the French sociologist sociologist Pierre-Andre Pierre-Andre´ Taguieff Taguieff have introduced introduced the the no nottion ion of a ‘neo ‘neo-ra -raci cism’, sm’, base based, d, no nott on biol biolog ogic ical al,, but but upon pon cult cultu ural differentiation between peoples. 2 PierrePierre-Andre Andre´ Taguie Taguieff’s ff’s theorisa theorisati tio on of a new racism, racism, founded founded upon upon the view of cultures as xed, is strongly linked to his attempt to point out the role of anti-racism in facilitating this phenomenon. Taguieff develops the notion of a diffe differen renti tial alist ist raci racism sm based based on the the xit xity of cult cultu ure which which rende renders rs bot both ‘racism’ and ‘anti-racism’ incomplete as terms seeking to explain the intricacy of this this oppo opposi siti tion onaary comp comple lex x (Tag (Tagui uief eff, f, 19 1991 91). ). His His argu argume ment nt is based based on twentieth century developments in anthropology that weakened the biological theorisation of superior and inferior ‘races’ and made ‘ofcial’ the notion that the existence of human ‘races’ has no scientic bearing. What evolved, however, ever, due to the work of anthrop anthropolo ologist gistss such as Claude Claude Le´ vi-Stra vi-Strauss uss (1961) (1961) and the growing acceptability of culture rather than ‘race’ as a primary marker of difference, was the notion of cultural relativism upon which, Taguieff claims, anti-racism based itself. The emerging anti-racist tradition constructed itself around the beliefs that cultu cultural ral phenome phenomena na are of an autonomo autonomou us nature, nature, that cultural cultural determini determinism sm thus domina dominate tess both both mental mentality ity and lifestyl lifestyle, e, and that all cultures cultures should should be valued equally. With this, Taguieff appears to blame anti-racists for declaring the nullity of racial differentiation as a viable concept and replacing it with the semantically interchangeable term ‘culture’, the positive nature of which could be easil easily y subsc subscri ribe bed d to but but whose whose dete determi rmini nisti sticc prop properti erties had no nott been been prope properly rly thou thought ght out. out. In mo more re direc directt terms terms,, the noti notion of cul cultural tural differ differenentiat tiatiion as equal qually ly valo valori rise sed d prese resents nts no probl roblem em to left left-l -leean anin ing, g, weste westerrn thinkers in so far as it is contained in anthropological eld research. The idea beco becomes mes probl probleema mati ticc when when conte contextu xtual aliised in the form form of Europe European an-bo -bound und immigration. This approach is echoed by the current debate on the limits of communitarianism and is visible in Habermas’ writings on the effect that a ‘tremendous inux of immigration’ (Habermas, 1995, p. 255) may have on the stability of western European societies. Indeed, the advent of social-democrat governments in all four of Europe’s largest states does not seem to have altered hard-line, racially biased approaches to immigration (Bloch, 1999). Tagu Taguie ieff ff shows shows anti anti-raci -racist st thinki thinking ng to ha have ve deve develo lop ped, regar regardle dless ss of the the inuence of culturalist moves in anthropology, along the lines of an opposition to a racism still perceived literally to be racist in the biological sense. This view of racist opposition was based on anti-racism’s inability to sever the linkages in the ‘hostil ‘hostilit ity y to differenc difference-a e-anni nnihil hilati ation/geno on/genoci cide’ de’ continu continuum, um, founded founded upon upon the experience of the Nazi Shoah. Shoah. However, lack of evidence for connecting contemporary racism against immigrants to the horrors of recent history led to the the fo formu rmula lati tion on of econ econom omiic argu argume ment ntss fo forr the the expla xplana nati tion on of in into tollerant erant attitudes which, however unwillingly, justied working class phobias against
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foreigners. This double victimisation was the outcome of the deliberate attempt by the capitalist class to serve its own interests, diffusing racial prejudice to mask class hegemony. Tagu Taguie ieff ff seeks seeks to sho show w that that whilst whilst anti-ra nti-raci cism sm was being being subsum subsumed ed by econom economic ic/co /collonial onialist ist argum argumen ents, ts, raci racism sm itself tself was was lea learning rning from from the initi nitial trigge triggerr for these these very very ideas ideas — the no noti tio on of cul cultural tural rathe ratherr than than biol biologi ogical cal difference. To be clear, it is proposed that anti-racist thought was based on three pinnacles: the invalidity of ‘race’, the centrality of cultural difference, and the equal status of all cultures. These principles are at the core of arguments for cult cultu ural rela relati tivi vism. sm. At the the sa same me time time,, the the prol prolifera iferati tion on of raci racist st atti attittudes udes amon am ongst gst the the wo work rkin ing g class classes es was was expla xplain ined ed in term termss of tradi tradittiona ionall clas classs conict. This need to excuse the racism of the white working class still sticks in the the side of the the prog progressi ressiv ve an anti ti-ra -raci cist st movem movemen entt today today (inte (intervi rview ew with with CARF, 1999). On the other hand, racism as diffused by the bourgeoisie, was held to be based on a belief in the hierarchisation of biological races that, in the extreme, would lead to human genocide. Anti-racism as a movement sought, in reacti reaction, on, to comba combatt raci racism sm by in insist sistin ing g upon upon the the equal qual val valorisat orisatiion of all cult cultu ures an and d a respe respect ct fo forr diffe differen rence. ce. This, This, fo forr Tagu Taguie ieff, ff, was an anti ti-ra -raci cism’ sm’ss gravest error. A problematisation of Taguieff’s contribution has been proposed by Etienne Balibar. In his summary of Taguieff’s work, Balibar concludes: From the logical point of view, differentialist racism is a meta-racism, or what we may call a ‘second-position’ racism, which presents itself as havi ha ving ng drawn drawn the the lesson lessonss from from the con conic ictt betwe between en raci racism and an anti ti-raci racism, sm, as a poli politi tica call lly y ope operati rational onal theo theory ry of the cau causes of social social aggression. If you want to avoid racism, you have to avoid that ‘abstract’ anti-racism which fails to grasp the psychological and sociological laws of human human popu popula lati tion on mo move veme ments nts;; you you have have to respe respect ct the the ‘tol ‘tolerance erance thresholds’ maintain ‘cultural distances’ or, in other words, in accordance with with the the post ostul ulaate that that in indiv dividu iduaals are the the exclusi xclusive ve hei heirs an and d bearers of a single culture, segregate collectivities (the best barrier in this rega regard rd sti stilll being being na nati tiona onall fronti frontieers). (Bali (Balibar bar and Walle Wallerste rsteiin, 19 1991, 91, p. 23) This reading of Taguieff, highlights the problematic nature of his insistence on a culturalist racism which replaces the ‘traditional’ view of human population tionss diffe differen renti tiat ated ed on the the basis basis of biol biologi ogica call ‘race’ ‘race’.. Tagu Taguie ieff ff sees sees this this new racism as purposefully veiling its purer form, biological racism. In retaliation, he argues, anti-racism should adjust its orientation in recognition of the toned down cultural discourse of the new Right. His emphasis on the need to tackle new-Rightist strategy masks anti-racism’s growing concern with racism as a diffused phenomenon, more pervasive and, arguably, more dangerous, in its institutionalised forms. Indeed, Taguieff’s position reveals his strong situation in the context of the French debate on racism. 3 According to Phil Cohen, in the British context the new racism thesis provided an important intellectual resource for the
96 Alana Lentin anti-racist anti-racist movement, movement, enabling enabling it to shift its attentio attention n beyond the violent, violent, aversive forms of popular racism towards the more subtle and invisible aspects of cultural stereotyping and discrimination, especially as these operated within the institutions of civil governance. (Cohen, 1999, p. 4)
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In esse essen nce, ce, the mo morre corr correc ectt argu rgument ment appea pears to be tha hatt there here is no signicant difference between theories that seek to justify the discrimination of the the Othe Other, r, wheth whether er the they be biol biolog ogic ical al or cult cultu ural. ral. It is no nott sim simpl ply y that that if anti an ti-ra -raci cism sm were were to real realise ise that that raci racism sm no long longeer beli belieeves in biol biolog ogiicall cally y determined differentiation and has now itself taken up the cultural relativists’ call for the unicity of culture that it could become a viable movement. What in fact appears to be at the root of placing the blame at anti-racism’s door is rather an exasperation at the failure of assimilative strategies. Thus, Taguieff appears to be fo foll llow owin ing g a curre current nt in Frenc French h an anti ti-ra -raci cism sm that that cal calls fo forr the the righ rightt of ‘immigrants’ (second and third generations included) to integrate into French society society.. Harlem Harlem De´sir ´s ir,, leader leader of SOS Racis the 1980s sta stated: ted: ‘For For us Racisme me in the integrat integration ion is primari primarily ly the rejec rejectio tion n of exclusion, exclusion, the reject rejectio ion n of the the ghetto ghetto cited in Lloyd, Lloyd, 19 1996). 96). This stateme statement nt which includes the cultural ghetto’ ghetto’ (De´ sir, cited reects the tendency of French mainstream anti-racism to frame racism in the conte context xt of huma human n right rights, s, stres stressi sin ng the the indivi ndividu dual al’s ’s righ rightt to freed freedom om and equality despite group-based discrimination. Universalist calls for the fading out of difference through the assimilation of minority cultures have blended into a politics of integration which, although recognising their existence, sees all cultural groups as internally homogeneous (Wieviorka, 1997; Yuval-Davis, 1997). The concern displayed with the failure of both approaches, both as principles and as policies of western states, is evident in much of the contemporary liberal versus communitarian debate. Both sides often arrive at similar conclusions when discussing the handling of ‘illiberal grou groups’ ps’ (Kyml (Kymliicka, cka, 198 989), 9), perce erceived ived as unab unable le or ‘unw ‘unwil illlin ing’ g’ to becom becomee a seaml seamleess part part of weste western rn so soci ciet ety y. The The vie view whic which h sees sees mi mino nori ritty ethn ethnic ic or racialised groups as responsible for what is often viewed as their failure to adjust to the demands of the states in which they live, fails to problematise the ineequa in quality lity of the powe powerr rel relation tionshi ship ps whi which gov govern the the way way we live live in ‘multicultural’ ‘multicultural’ s ocieties. ocieties. Conseq Conseque uentl ntly, y, cul cultural turalist ist raci racism, sm, rathe ratherr than than being being a cle clever mecha mechani nism sm initiated by new Right-wing parties to gain face, permeates state institutional and, thus, thus, indivi individua duall conce concept ptiion onss of diffe differe rence nce conce conceiv ived ed as ‘race’ ‘race’-ba -base sed. d. It therefore cannot be said to be due to the failures of anti-racism, as Taguieff suggests. Racism of this type is inherent in state, institutional, class-based and individual participation in the legitimation of an established dominant culture. Thus, neither is it a new phenomenon. Ther Theree is, is, no doub doubtt, a spe specic cical ally ly Fren rench bran brand d of the the doct doctri rin nes of Aryan Aryaniism, anthro nthrop pom omeetry try and biol biolog ogic ical al gene geneti tici cism, sm, but but the the true true ‘French ideology’ is not to be found in these: it lies rather in the idea that the culture of the ‘land of the Rights of Man’ has been entrusted with a universal mission to educate the human race. There corresponds to this mission a practise of assimilating dominated populations and a conse-
‘Race’, Racism and Anti-racism: Challenging Contemporary Classications 97 quent need to differentiate and rank individuals and groups in terms of their greater or lesser aptitude for — or resistance to — assimilation. (Balibar and Wallerstein, 1991) All All west wester ern n state statess mi mini nimi mise se the the effe effect ct of the the prese resence of no nonn-na nati tion onal al peopl peoples es (mi (mino norit rity y ethnic thnic and raci racial aliised group groups) s) on the the societ societal al statu statuss quo quo through through assimil assimilati ation on or, latte latterly, rly, integra integratio tion. n. Whether Whether by playing playing down (assimilating) or playing on (integrating) cultural difference, states play a paternalistic role that entrenches racist attitudes. Bauman describes the process thus:
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With the progressive universalisation of the human condition — which means nothing else but the uprooting of all parochiality and the powers bent on preserving it, and consequently setting human development free of the stultifying impact of the accident of birth — that predetermined, stronger-t stronger-thanhan-huma human-cho n-choice ice diversity diversity will fade away. (Bauman, (Bauman, 19 1997, 97, p. 48) The continuing co-existence of minority ethnic and religious groups and people of colou colourr along alongside side so-ca so-called lled nati nationals onals serves serves as a consta constant nt remi reminde nderr of the the shortco shortcomi ming ngss of univ universa ersali list st ideal idealiism in inasmu asmuch ch as it involv nvolves es a top top-down -down imposition of standards, values and behaviour.
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The Janus Face of Universalism
In order order to understa understand nd the the origi origins ns of a soso-ca call lled ed ‘cult ‘cultu urali ralist’ raci racism sm and its its propo propose sed d emer emerge gence nce throu through anti-ra nti-raci cist st cult cultu ural rela relati tivi vism, sm, it is help helpful ful to examine the relationship between racism as both discourse and practice and the ideology of universalism that has dened western thinking about humanity for the last two centuries. By doing this I hope to show that the proposal of a ‘new’ culturalist (rather than biological) racism ignores the historical evidence that shows that this is no new concept. Antisemitism is the primary example of thi this type type of ‘rac ‘racis ism m wi with thou outt race race’. ’. More Moreov over er,, it is ethni thnic, c, relig religio ious us or per se arou racial racialised ised difference difference per around nd which which racism racism moulds moulds its its argum argumen ents ts fo forr discrimination. Etienne Balibar proposes that the negation of difference is central to racist discourse through his argument for the compatibility of racism and universalism: universalism and racism are indeed (determinate) contraries, and this is why each of them has the other inside itself — or is bound to affect the other from the inside. inside. (Balibar and Wallerstein, 1991, p. 198) Linked as it is to the very foundations of a universalist ideology, emerging out of Enli Enligh ghte tenm nmen entt phi philosop losophy hy,, the the bel belief ief that that mo mora rall equal qualiity is a na natu tura rall entit entitle leme ment nt of the ‘brot ‘brother herhoo hood d of ma man’, n’,4 racism racism,, like like sexism sexism,, becom becomes es the the prism through which we may understand the very possibility of talking about a universalist ideal. In other words, both racism and sexism serve to justify the fact that there are always exemptions to inclusion in universal humanity. This can also explain why several criteria of demarcation may serve to exclude those
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seen as different. Culture has provided to this end in some contexts whereas biology has proved equally effective in others. Therefore, the semantic nature of the culture versus biology debate enlarged by Tagu Taguie ieff, ff, obfus obfusca cate tess the the point oint ma made de by Bali Baliba bar, r, that that raci racism, sm, in both both its its biological and cultural forms, has been inseparable from the task of creating a ‘general idea of man’ (Balibar, 1994, p. 198), itself confounded by images of ¨ bermensch is implicit. superiority and inferiority in which the quest for the U The constructio construction of universally universally rational rational man necessitates necessitates a denition denition in rela r elati tion on to so some me Othe Otherr that that,, in turn turn,, dema demands nds a hi hieerarch rarchiisa sati tion on of human human bein beings, gs, ranked in relation to the universal ideal. Taken a step further, such categorisations lead to xing the boundaries that encompass our denitions of humanity which, in the practices of certain European philosophical traditions, have been founde founded d upon pon the the Euro Euroce cent ntri ricc perspe erspect ctiv ivee that that struc structu ture ress the the pat patterns terns of exclusion and inclusion from a universal point of view that sees Europe as its centre. Balibar’s proposal that racism and universalism, rather than being reducible to one anothe nother, r, conta contain in each wi withi thin n itse itself lf leads eads to a consta constant nt que questi stioni oning ng of who you are in a certain social world, why there are some compulsory places in this world to which you must adapt yourself, imposing upon yourself a certain univocal identity. (Balibar, 1994, p. 200) Racism provides the answer to the universal dilemma that seeks to homogenise us when, in fact, we feel different and strive towards uniqueness. It is because there is difference that these feelings are aroused in us and it is because there are Others who point out this very difference that we are sometimes compelled to exclude or enact violence against them. Racism is inextricable from universalism and, thus, apparently perennial, because: We are different, and, d, taut tautolo ologic gicall ally y because because difference difference is the univer universal sal different, an essenc ssencee of what what we are — not sing singul ulaar, in indi divi vidu dual al diff differ ereence, nce, but but collective differences, made of analogies and, ultimately, of similarities. The core of this mode of thought might very well be this common logic: differences among men are differences among sets of similar individuals (which for this reason can be ‘identied’). (Balibar, 1994, p. 200) Taking this into account, the reaction of anti-racism should concern itself less witth what wi what spec speciic weap weapo ons are used sed to poin intt out out diff diffeeren rence or mo mode dell a hierarchisation of peoples. Rather, racism for Balibar should be seen as a mode of thought, that is to say a mode of connecting not only words with objects, but more profoundly, words with images, in order to create concepts. (Balibar, 1994, p. 200) Challenging racism thus means changing a way of thinking which has become essential to the view of our western selves, created in the tradition of modern Euro Europe pean an Enli Enlighte ghtenm nmeent phi hilloso osop phy an and d perv pervasi asive ve of dail daily y thou though ghtt and behaviour. Balibar’s historically based argument is useful in pointing out the problems invol involve ved d in the the new raci racism sm thesi thesis. s. By rela relati ting ng both both cult cultu ural and biol biologi ogical cal
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argum argumen ents ts fo forr the the subor subordi dina nati tio on of the the raci raciaalised lised in soci society ety to the the core core of universalism, Balibar successfully points out the Janus-faced nature of ideals such as individual human rights. Their location in a universalising tendency that grants the right of individual freedom while concomitantly perceiving and classifying minority groups as internally homogeneous is especially problematic when used in anti-racist discourse. However, Balibar’s emphasis on ‘feelings’ ings’ of differ differen ence ce — essenti ssential ally ly indiv individu idual al — detrac detracts ts som somewh ewhat at from the the force of his argument. Implying that racism is bound up with feeling different from others others unlike nlike ourse ourselv lves es ma may y be seen seen as im imp plying lying that that feel feelings can can be changed by challenging individual prejudices or allegiances alone. Despite his criti critiqu quee of Tagu Taguie ieff, ff, Bali Balibar bar ma may y be read read as fall falliing in into to a sim simil ilaar trap trap by avoi avoidin ding g an insti instituti tution onaal and, thus, hus, poli politi tical cal reading reading of raci racism. sm. By seei seeing ng racism as a ‘mode of thought’ Balibar avoids talking explicitly about racism in terms terms of the unev uneven en power ower rela relati tions ons exerci exercised sed in conte contempo mporar rary y societ societie ies. s. However, if we read Balibar from such a structural perspective it is possible to see racism as so ingrained in both the institutions of state policy and practice and an d the ideo deologi logiees tha hatt guide uide them hem that that it appe ppears to be like like a ‘mo ‘mode of thought’ or a xed attitude. Rejecting ‘Race’ as a Critical Concept
Paul Gilroy (1998) has recently called for an end to the use of ‘race’ as a critical concept. His proposal, I suggest, may be linked to Balibar’s demonstration of the the dang dangeers in esse essentia ntiali lisin sing g eithe itherr the the biol biolog ogic ical al or cult cultu ural sign signiiers ers of difference purportedly used in ‘original’ and ‘neo’ racisms respectively. It can also also be seen seen as emerg merging ing from from Gi Gilr lroy oy’s ’s in incre creasi asing nglly criti critica call stan stance ce on the the appropri appropriat ation ion of anti-ra anti-racism cism by institut institutiions and self-i self-inte ntereste rested d lobbies lobbies (1992) (1992) and his stron strong oppo opposit sitiion to the de-po de-polliti iticisat cisatio ion n of anti anti-raci -racism sm as a viab viable le movement: a eld eld from from whic which h poli politi tics cs ha hass been been bani banishe shed, d, an and d where where the the easy invocation of ‘race’ is regular conrmation of the retreat of the political. (Gilroy, 1998, p. 839) Gilroy Gilro y bases bases a substa substanti ntial al conte contemp mpor oraary deve devellopme opment ntss of visua visuali lity ty and perce percept ptiion’ notion notionss of ‘absolu ‘absolute te identi identity’ ty’ emerge.
part part of his argum argument ent upon upon the the im impo porta rtance nce of in techn technol olog ogy y whic which h creat createe ‘new ‘new hi hist stor orie iess (Gil (G ilroy, roy, 199 998, 8, p. 839) and radic radical ally ly transf transfor orm m from which which new and competi competing ng subject subjectivi ivitie tiess
Have you, has your body been scanned? (asks Gilroy). Do you recognise its chan changi ging ng opti opticc dens densit ity? y? If so so,, I wo woul uld d like like you you to consi conside derr that that development as another sign that we can let the old visual signatures of ‘race’ go. Having waved them farewell, it is possible that we shall do a better job of countering the racisms, the injustices, that they brought into being if we make a more consistent effort to de-nature and de-ontologize ‘race’ and thereby to disaggregate raciologies. (Gilroy, 1998, p. 839) What Gilroy is asserting should not be confused with Taguieff’s rejection of
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biology in favour of culture in the quest to understand racist ideologies. Rather, ‘race’ can no longer be an effective classicatory category, even in the political terms in which it has been employed (for example, in the discourse on ‘political blackness’) because of the way in which it has been commodied in daily life. On the one hand, as Gilroy points out, if even anti-racist activists retain racial denitions of difference what chance is there of convincing others that in real terms it has no meaning. On the other, the pervasive usage of racial categorisatio tion in the the doma domaiin of adve advert rtiising sing an and d the the medi media, a, promot romotiing diff differe erence nce as posit positiv ivee, ha hass para parado doxic xical ally ly led led to the the sit situ uatio ation n in which which ‘race ‘race’’ cann cannot ot be abando abandoned ned beca because use in that that world world of ‘priv ‘privat atiised, corpo corporat ratee mult multiicult cultu uralralism … raci racial alte alteri rity ty has acqu acquire ired d an im impo port rtant ant comme commerci rciaal valu value’ e’ (Gi (Gilro lroy, y, 1998, p. 843). The problem of evoking ‘race’ as a critical concept, and, I add, most likely the reason why culture seems now to dominate racist discourse, is that we no longer longer so readil readily y equate equate observab observable le differe differences nces with with conseque consequenti ntial al physical physical realit realitiies. The unimag unimagina inable ble speed speed of recent recent develop developmen ments ts in technol technology ogy,, but also the rst-hand knowledge brought about by greater mobility, have made the theoretical notion of biological racial difference untenable: On what what scale scale is huma human n sam samen eness ess,, huma human n dive diversi rsitty no now w to be cali cali- brated? In the instability of scale that characterises our episteme, how is racialised and racialising identity to be imagined when we know that it has already been imaged? (Gilroy, 1998, pp. 843–44) What these observations bring Gilroy to is an understanding, in accordance with Balibar, that to conceive racism, to develop useful critical concepts and to tentat tentative ively ly reformul reformulate ate an antiti-raci racism, sm, it is im imper perati ative ve to locat locatee historic historicall ally y the unfurling of the notion of ‘race’. Such a task requires the relation of macro histori historica call condit conditiion onss to congru congruen entt subje subject ctiive devel develop opme ment ntss in in indiv dividu idual als’ s’ self-understandings. ‘Scientic’ racism, for Gilroy, accompanying the onset of modernity, became the point at which ‘enlightenment and myth’ (Gilroy, 1998, p. 843) 843) met. met. Accompa Accompanie nied d by national nationality ity,, the bonds created created by ‘race’, ‘race’, legit legitiimate ma ted d by the their couc couchi hing ng in the the mo mode dern rn lang langu uage of ‘pro ‘prova vabl ble’ e’ biol biolog ogiical cal science, gave meaning to our pre-modern, instinctive understandings of ourselves. Thus, ‘race’ ‘race’ ma may y be moderni modernity ty’s ’s mos mostt pernic ernicio ious us signat signatu ure. It artic articu ulate lated d reaso reason n and unreas nreason on.. It knit knitte ted d to toge geth ther er scien science ce and supe superstit rstitio ion n. (Gilroy, 1998, p. 843) Biolo Biologi gica call ‘race’ ‘race’ and the the pract practic icee of racism racism allo allowed wed prepre-mo modern dern knowl knowledg edgee about modes of belonging to persist in an age in which the non-reasonable was otherwise scorned. This echoes Balibar’s (1994) claim that racism itself created its own communities, grounded in the safety of sameness which the modern Enlightenment Enlightenment project and its quest quest for universalism universalism engendered. engendered. Communitie Communitiess of (homoge (homogeneo neous) us) identit identity y were possible possible where overridi overriding ng ideolo ideology gy placed placed them at the top of a universal hierarchy. Gilroy does not, indeed cannot, provide the answers to the dilemmas he poses poses in his provoca rovocati tiv ve pape paper. r. He is, like like mo most st conte contemp mpora orary ry stude student ntss of
‘Race’, Racism and Anti-racism: Challenging Contemporary Classications 101 ‘race’, racism and anti-racism, haunted by the problem inherent in the recognition of the critical futility of employing ‘race’ as a category and the concomitant realisa realisati tion on that, that, withou withoutt these these tried tried and tested tested concep concepts, ts, anti-raci nti-racism sm increasincreasingly loses meaning. This is the point of Gilroy’s anger in his 1992 declaration of the ‘End of anti-racism’ where he condemns anti-racism in its institutional, party-political and anti-fascist forms, an anti-racism that trivialises the struggle against racism and isolates it from other political antagonisms — from the contradiction between capital and labour, from the the batt battle le betw betwee een n men men and wo wome men. n. It sugg suggest estss that that raci racism sm can can be elimi eliminate nated d on its own because because it is readily readily extricable extricable from everyt everything hing else. (Gilroy, 1992, p. 50)
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Gilroy’s proposal to abolish ‘race’ as a critical concept should not, however, be confused with a denial of anti-racism as a necessary principle and practice. Gilro Gi lroy y ree reects cts the the signi signic cant ant chang changes es taki taking ng place place am amongs ongstt orga organise nised d antiantiracists since his observation of anti-racism’s crisis in 1992. Particularly in the British context, from which Gilroy wrote, a series of events marked the turning point for an anti-racism overtaken by interest groups, political parties and an anti anti-fasci -fascist st discou discourse rse beari bearing ng litt little le resem resembl blanc ancee to the institu nstituti tiona onall raci racism sm expe experie rienced nced in cont conteempor mporar ary y so soci cieety. ty. The inqui nquiry ry in into to the the deat death h of blac black k teenager Stephen Lawrence and the mobilisation by Bangladeshis against the ele electio ction n of a Briti British sh Nati National onal Party Party candi candidat datee in the Tower Tower Haml Hamlet etss area area of London brought about a less entrenched anti-racism. Campaigns of this nature were the rst to be both broad-based, attracting a record rate of public support, and community-led, signifying the acceptance of the end of an appropriated anti-racism (interview with NAAR, 1999). In London, and equivalent cities, the positive proliferation of black culture alongside the disproportionate violence and discrimination against racialised communities makes a rejection of ‘race’ as a means of classication possible. The paradox of a situation in which blackness permeates daily experience to such an extent to make it banal highlights the the outra utrag geousne ousness ss of targ target etiing thi this gro group ove over an any y ot othe herr fo forr une unequal qual treatment. This current reality connects to the points made by both Gilroy and Balibar in the former’s proposal to banish ‘race’ from anti-racist discourse and in the latter’s reminder that dwelling on categorisation (science versus culture) will not change the marginalised situation of the racialised. Tackling the phenomenon at its structural, political core appears, therefore, to be the only way of usefu usefullly comba combati ting ng raci racism. sm. More Moreov over, er, an overe overemp mphasi hasiss on cat categori egorisat satiion on,, parti particu cula larly rly in atte attemp mpts ts to ‘ght ‘ght raci racism on its ow own n terms’ terms’,, as sugge suggeste sted d by Taguieff in his warning to anti-racism to note parallel shifts in racist discourse, have have alrea already dy prove proved d unreli unreliab able. le. Gi Gilro lroy y makes makes this this poin pointt by refe referrin rring g to the the problems inherent in pragmatic stances that adopt racialised terminology. This is furt furthe herr echoe choed d by Modo Modoo od (19 (1997 97)) who expl explaain inss ho how w the emph emphaasis on ‘politi ‘political cal blackne blackness ss’’ that that dominat dominated ed British British anti-raci nti-racism sm during during the 19 1970s 70s and 1980s 19 80s resul resulted ted in the exclu exclusio sion n of Musl Muslim imss from from the the anti-ra nti-raci cist st strugg struggle le.. As racism is necessarily a heterogeneous phenomenon so too must anti-racisms be developed that include, to the maximum, the various voices of racialised and
102 Alana Lentin ethnic minority communities in western societies. The nal section of the paper will attempt to draw together the main points made by illustrating initiatives that have been taken to this end. Anti-racist Responses
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Anti-raci Anti-racism sm movemen movements ts in Europe Europe represent represent a diverse diverse range of associa associations tions and plat platfo forms, rms, diffe differing ring signi signica cantl ntly y from count country ry to cou country. ntry. This lack of uni unity ha hass been been perce perceiv ived ed as lead leadin ing g an anti ti-ra -raci cism sm in into to crisi crisiss (Gi (Gilro lroy, y, 19 19992; intervie interview w with with CARF, 1999), 1999), mainly mainly inasmuch inasmuch as coni conicti cting ng viewpo viewpoints ints become entrenche entrenched d thus thus denying denying the possibil possibilit ity y of co-ope co-operat ration. ion. This problem problem has been further confounded in recent years with the introduction of various institutional initiatives for tackling racism. Movements often nd themselves in uneasy uneasy col collabo laborat ratiion wi with th supra suprana nati tion onal al insti instituti tution onss such such as the Europe European an Commission, risking outright rejection which denies them any inuence over panpan-Eu Europ ropeean proc proceesses. sses. This This is ree reect cteed by the the view viewss of the the Camp Campai aign gn Against Racism and Fascism (CARF):5 In term termss of Euro Europ pean ean Unio Union n … There There was mo mone ney y goi going out out to fund fund anti-racist projects. I mean nobody’s going to be purist and say we don’t want the money because we’re all desperate for money, without which you can’t do your work, if you haven’t got any money you’re just going to collapse. But certainly from our perspective — I don’t think we got any money from the European Union at all — is that I think what was funded was not anti-racist work, was cultural work, multicultural work. The best way to get funding was multicultural work, not stuff that was goin going g to be criti critica call of stat state institu nstituti tions ons.. (In (Inte tervi rview ew with with CARF, CARF, 19 1999) 99) Represe Representa ntatio tion n is anothe anotherr issue confoundi confounding ng colla collabora boratio tion n with with transnatransnational tional institut institutiona ionall initia initiative tivess with with many organisations organisations insisting on black and ethnic minority leadership and others still rejecting the signicance of this form of empowerment. Amongst coalition based movements, recent interviews that I carried out with activists revealed a growing tendency to go beyond these peren perennial nial stumbl stumbliing bloc blocks. ks. Organi Organisat satio ions ns such such as the Nati National onal Assembl Assembly y Against Racism (NAAR) and the 1990 Trust in the UK, while stressing black leadership, did not refuse co-operation with other organisations sharing their basic aims on both national and international levels. This view is illustrated in the following interview extract with the National Assembly Against Racism: 6 The sort of dening point of the National Assembly is (1) that the people who experience racism, that is in the rst instance today, black — that is Asian, African, Caribbean people in Britain — have to play the leading role in the ght against racism and that is not just a matter of lip-service that that ha hass to be in an any y orga organi nisat satio ion n writt writteen in and const constit itut utio iona nall lly y organ organise ised d … That’s That’s number number on onee an and d then then numbe numberr two, two, that that the an anti ti-racist movement has to be an alliance, it can’t be one particular current imposing its view, analysis and agenda on the whole movement and therefore the way the anti-racist movement has to work — or how the
‘Race’, Racism and Anti-racism: Challenging Contemporary Classications 103 National Assembly has to work — is that it has to discuss and take its own initiative, ght against every obvious appearance of racism in this society but it also has to be willing to support and promote the issues and campaigns taken up by others if they’re genuinely against racism. And that it may have to work in coalition with other organisations in order to take forward specic campaigns and initiatives. (Interview with NAAR, 1999)
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Both of the above comments reect the importance of tackling racism from a perspective that is politically critical, black and ethnic minority led and based on broad alliances. This approach poses a direct challenge to both state and inte internati rnationa onall institu nstituti tion onss charg charged ed wi with th deal dealiing with with raci racism sm and secto sectors rs of non-government that concentrate on overt racism and neo-Nazism, on the one hand, or the the promot promotio ion n of mul m ultic ticu ultural lturalism ism seen as insufci insufcient ent,, on the other. other. These alliance-based movements call for anti-racism to ght racism beyond its crude crude fasci fascist st fo forms rms and on the the basis basis of a struc structu tura rall polit olitic icise ised d strate strategy gy that reje rejects the notio notion n that that mult multic icul ultu tura rall understa understandi nding ng is the the panacea anacea fo forr raci racist st ‘atti ‘attitu tude des’. s’. Both Both Bali Balibar bar and Gi Gilr lroy oy’s ’s argume rguments nts fo forr the need need to get get beyon beyond d both ‘cultural’ and ‘biological’ explanations for racism are evident here. These arguments are apparent in the following comments. Concerning multicultu multiculturalist ralist approaches: approaches: [In the] Overcome Racism Now initiative their 7 whole thing was to say peop people le are ma maki king ng an exagge exaggerat rated ed fuss fuss about about this this beca because use there there are actually very tiny numbers of black people in these cities so they wanted the gures to show there’s only really 2%. I said well, excuse me, you know in London there are 33–34% black and ethnic minority people and our point is not that this is small, it’s big and therefore London and gove govern rnme ment nt an and d Lond Londo on gove govern rnme ment nt ha have ve to chan change ge to ree reect ct the the reality of London not to try to push it into a corner. (Interview with NAAR, 1999) Concerning institutionalised identity politics: I think our perspective has enabled us to critique identity politics and see what’s wrong with them. I mean, for instance there was a time in the 1980s after the riots here where different strategies for ghting racism were advocated like racial awareness training which is very much based on iden dentity ity pol politics ics an and d was was based based on the the idea dea that that raci racism sm equal qualss prejudice. So, the idea was that the way to get rid of racism was to actual ctually ly get get peop eople who who were were wo work rkiing in the pol police ice fo force rce,, in loca locall gove govern rnme ment nt an and d to take take the them fo forr raci racial al awar awareeness ness train rainin ing g and to basically — it sort of worked that white people were given a grilling about their own personal racism and so they were made to feel terribly gui guilty lty and bre break down down an and d cry. cry. And we were were alw lway ayss very very much much opposed to all those things because, you know, we have … our politics come out of the belief that racism isn’t about individual prejudice, it’s about institutions, what institutions do. And in many ways a lot of the
104 Alana Lentin things that we have said over the years have been vindicated now with the the Ste Stephen phen Lawrence Lawrence inqui inquiry ry an and d the ruli ruling ng about about in insti stitu tuti tiona onali lised sed racism. (Interview with CARF, 1999) These illustrations of the concerns of anti-racist activists support the main poin points ts made made in the the theore theoreti tica call body body of the the pap paper. Progressi rogressiv ve coal coaliition tionss of anti anti-raci -racists sts tend tend to reje reject ct cul cultural turalist ist argum argumeents for the the promo promoti tio on of raci racial equa equallity as advoc advocat ated ed by Tagu Taguie ieff. ff. In practi ractice ce this this is reec reecte ted d in a justi justie ed d scepticism scepticism of depoliticised, depoliticised, multicultu multiculturally rally orientat orientated ed campaigns campaigns or somethi somet hing ng cel celebrat ebratiing cul cultural tural dive diversity rsity or bringi bringing ng diffe differe rent nt ethni ethnicc group groupss to toge geth ther er.. I thin think k thos thosee were were the the sort sort of thi things ngs the the Euro Europ pean ean Union were interested in. (interview with CARF, 1999). 1 1 0 2 y a M 9 1 9 5 : 4 1 : t A ] x e s s u S f o y t i s r e v i n U [ : y B d e d a o l n w o D
But there is also a rejection of what can be termed ‘biological’ or ‘race’ based argum argumen ents ts in supp support of Gi Gillroy. roy. This runs alon along g two two lines. lines. Firstl Firstly, y, there there is strong realisation that targeting neo-Nazism and the far right alone, though vital, is insufcient. Secondly, the emphasis placed on black and ethnic minority leadership in broad alliances negates treating ‘race’ as a special mode of class classiicat catiion on.. As Gi Gilr lro oy clai claims, ms, the the fami famili liar arit ity y wi witth blac blackn kneess, at least least in modern urban societies, empties ‘race’ even of its pragmatic signicance. The aim today is not to talk about the racialised. Rather, the leadership by black and ethnic minority people of organisations reecting their concerns becomes a norm that may help towards accepting non-whiteness or ethnic difference as a fact of life rather than an ‘anthropological category’. Conclusions
Three main points have been made in the course of this paper that are crucial to any project that aims to lay the ground for a rethinking of anti-racism as discourse and practice. Firstl Firstly, y, comi coming ng to an underst understan anding ding of the the struct structur uraal embeddedn mbeddedness ess of racism in western societies necessitates a historical perspective showing how the universalising rationalisation of human differences effectively shaped the Shoah . acceptability of exclusion, leading, in the worst case, to the Nazi Shoah. Seco Secondl ndly, y, the the curre current nt propo roposa sall to draw draw a line line betw betwee een n ‘ol ‘old’ biol biolog ogiical cal racism and ‘new’ cultural racism denies the point that aversion to difference per se and no nott parti particu cular lar biol biolog ogic ical al or cul cultura turall trai traits leads leads to the persi persiste stence nce of racism over time. The link made by writers such as Taguieff to the insistence of antinti-ra raci cism sm on the div diversit rsity of equa equall cul culture turess can can onl nly y be seen seen as an exasperated exasperated (and in some senses justiable) justiable) dig at contemporary contemporary ‘multicultu ‘multiculturalralism’. Finally, an abandonment of ‘race’ as a critical concept is proposed in an era when intermingling between different ethnic groups and the proliferation of black black an and d othe otherr mi minor norit ity y cul cultures tures increa ncreases yet yet racism racism conti continu nues es to exist. exist. A refram reframin ing g of anti-ra nti-raci cism sm as a poli politi tica call proj project that that enga engages ges direct directly ly wi with th the the structures into which it is built is necessary to avoid a racist discourse that
‘Race’, Racism and Anti-racism: Challenging Contemporary Classications 105 stresses identity, community, culture and tradition and neglects intersectionality and, most importantly, politics. Ala Alana na Lent Lentin in is a Rese Resear arch cher er at the the Dep Departme artment nt of Soci Sociaal and and Polit Politic icaal Scien Science ces, s, Europ Europea ean n Unive Univerrsity Inst Institu itute, te, Badia Badia Fieso Fiesola lana na,, Via Via dei dei Rocc Roccett ettini ini 9, I-5 I-500016 San San Domenico di Fiesole (FI), Italy, tel: 1 39 00 291 117, e-mail:
[email protected], web page: http://www.iue.it/Personal/Researchers/Lentin. Notes
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5. 6. 7.
These These inte intervie rviews were were carrie carried d out out as part part of my rese resear arch ch on Euro Europ pean ean anti-racist movements. Interviews in the UK and Ireland have been carried out in the rst stage of a project also looking at movements in several other western European countries. The project will eventually group together a number of activists from different organisations and countries in an interacti active ve acti action on-ba -based sed rese research arch in part part usin using g the the In Inte terne rnett in addi additi tion on to face-to-face meetings. Note Note that that while while the neo-ra neo-raci cist st thesi thesiss has been been associ associated ated with with the French French lite litera ratu ture re on the the subj subject ect an and d is stro strong nglly relat related ed to the the rise rise of the the Fron Frontt National in that country, British writers have also concerned themselves with the emergence of a new racism (see Barker, 1981; Gordon, 1989). Tagu Taguiieff’s eff’s conce concent ntra rati tio on on new new righ rightt-win wing g disco discour urse se an and d the the lack ack of attention he pays to the broader realms of institutional racism may be put down to his situation in the French context where such debates have not come as strongly to the fore. This is due, in part, to the success of the Front National, a phenomenon only mirrored more recently in other European countries (e.g. Switzerland and Austria). The phrase phrase ‘Brothe ‘Brotherhoo rhood d of Man’ Man’ is used used by Im Imma manue nuell Wall Wallerst ersteein (198 (1988) 8) to point out tha hatt it was was no nott incl nclusive sive of wo wom men but but nei neither her of non European, non-white men. A repr repreesen sentativ ativee of the the Camp Campai aign gn Aga Against Ra Raci cism sm and Fasc Fascis ism m was was interviewed by the author in November 1999. A represent sentaative of the Nat Nationa nall Asse Assemb mblly Aga Against Racism was was interviewed by the author in November 1999. The inte interviewe rvieweee is refe referri rring ng to the Ital Italian initi initiaators tors of the projec roject, t, ARCI. ARCI.
References
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