Race: A Philosophical Introduction by Paul Taylor

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Recommended: Socially constructed theory of race

The last chapter of the text varies depending on which edition is read. After buying the second edition I was able to acquire a copy of the first. The last chapters were an interesting correlation to the periods in which they were published, though they are both similar. After the 2008 election, Taylor rewrote the last chapter of the text to reflect the new conversation brought about with the election of our first black president. In the first edition, chapter six undertakes how race affects the increasingly prevalent topic of immigration and globalization in the United States (among various other things). Taylor stresses the importance of defining immigration administration as a racial structure, regardless of the insistence of supporters that they are simply enforcing laws. He makes his point by explaining that the common, go-to assertions and concepts about what qualifies as American (and what makes our country what we believe it to be) come from customs that were created “in the fires of classical racialism” (p. 195). This is particularly true with the unspoken, yet routine supposition that America is a country made for, and accommodating to, the white man. This understanding dates back to the time the first European settlers came to America and has been unwavering ever since. Taylor cites examples including the United States prison system and it’s radically uneven population. It seems strikingly obvious that there are a disproportionate amount of minorities, begging a discussion about the supposedly unpartisan nature of our laws and criminal codes. There is also mention of the consistent U.S. intervention in Haiti; all but eliminating it’s capability to be self-sufficient.
The relevance of globalization to immigration was n...

... middle of paper ...

... he is clarifying common assumptions and addresses issues which effect the population as a whole. I believe that the continued, urgent necessity for progressive change has been made clear, and Taylor goes on to specify that to adequately “unlearn our version of race-thinking would require a massive effort at public education, and anything related to public education won’t go anywhere unless it works through a variety of racial neuroses and through an assortment of issues in ethnic politics…” (p. 128). Truly being free from the captivity and narrow views that are common race-thinking has to occur both on a societal level and a personal one, and I believe Taylor has given us the tools and interpretations necessary to start questioning our own beliefs and convictions.

Works Cited

Taylor, Paul C. Race: A Philosophical Introduction. Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2004. Print.

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