Racial State Goldberg

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Throughout his book The Racial State Goldberg (2002) argues that race is fundamental to the formation, development and transformation of the modern nation state. Originating in the six-teenth century, racial thinking and racist expression have ever since undergone a process of normalization and naturalization within European societies and their domains of influence. As a consequence, race is inherent to modernity both as an existential condition and as a form of rule.
3.2.1 A brief History of Racial Differentiation throughout Colonial Times
European concerns about foreigners have had a very long history dating back to the estab-lishment of slavery in the fifteenth century. From the sixteenth century onwards, Europeans and those of European …show more content…

European superiority was thenceforward conceived to be a historical victory. ‘Primitiveness’ or racial inferiority was no longer thought permanent or unchangeable, but just the result of lacking behind in history. Progress was to be achieved by being socialized in the values of liberal European modernity. Racially inferior groups could ultimately achieve a higher level of humanity through education and by being assimilated in the European standard. The white colonizers were assumed to be the agents of history where-as the black colonized for historicist simply lacked agency due to underdevelopment (Gold-berg, …show more content…

While racial naturalism was clear, direct and open in its claims and aims, racial historicism was more ambivalent, ambiguous and in fact even hypocritical. Education and ideology were used to manipulate and impose the power of the white upon the colonized. If racial historicism brought about any change then it was the shift to veiling the racial commitments and racist exclusion behind the idea of racial progres-sivism. The bald and extreme expressions were outspokenly resisted in the name of Enlight-enment while the rule of racial domination was perpetuated, no longer naturalized but mod-ernized indeed. Once emerged, racial historicism has ever since been more prominent (Gold-berg, 2002) and it continues to determine racism today (Lentin & Lentin,