Ramón Grosfoguel
2016.3.22Journal of World-Systems Research
tlooto Summary
Racism is defined as dehumanization related to materiality of domination, with intersectionality of oppressions varying between zone of being and zone of non-being.
Abstract
This article provides a definition of racism inspired in the work of Frantz Fanon, Boaventura de Sousa Santos and contemporary Caribbean Fanonian Philosophers. It discusses racism in relation to zone of being and zone of non-being. Racism is discussed as a dehumanization related to the materiality of domination used by the world-system in the zone of non-being (violence and dispossession) as opposed to the materiality of domination in the zone of being (regulation and emancipation). The approach shows how intersectionality of oppressions work differently for oppressed people in the zone of being as opposed to oppressed people in the zone of non-being. While in the zone of being oppressions are mitigated by racial privilege, in the zone of non-being oppressions are aggravated by racial oppression.
Citation format
GROSFOGUEL, Ramón. What is racism. Journal of World-Systems Research, 2016, 22: 9–15.