Assignment from another class

Winant and Racism
Throughout the ages of civilized society mankind has always struggled to create a government in which all are not only created equally but treated equally. Sometimes this is a struggle because of conscious decisions, but often it is the black lash of mistakes and mishaps in the “State’s” choices of how to treat it’s citizens or inhabitants. The most prominent times in historical memory of inequality deal with racial prejudice and racism. Winant’s comment on racism perfectly explains why racism was a problem in history and why it’s still a problem today. We can look back on moments in history to help us understand why the decisions of our political leaders have caused our society to become a racially driven culture.
When looking at Winant’s comment about the state’s role in the facilitation of racism, we must first determine who the “state” is. The state can be defined as the government and political leaders of not only the United States of America but of other cultures and nations as well. “State” is not a country, regionally, or politically specific term, it is simply a pronoun for those with the greatest power. Under the umbrella of state, we can also isolate academics as a forum of publicly broadcasted information to not only our children but adults engaging in forms of higher education as well. Inequalities can be traced back to education as Stephen J. Gould alludes to in his lecture when he claims that “[…] academics have always tried to establish divisions.” As well as using science to try to establish divisions in our society, scientists have also misused scientific evidence to try to reveal biases in our culture (Gould). The scientific studies that took place all over the world have been used to try and solidify the ideas of racism that have been passed around for centuries, even though there is no biological distinction between races.
Winant’s comment on racism and inequality has much to do with the use of slavery in the creation United States of America’s foundation. Winant states that the state “simultaneously facilitates and obstructs racial discrimination; and it is both structured and challenged by political mobilization along racial lines”(Winant p.3). The connection between slavery and Winant’s statement is a perfect example of why this statement is significant to an understanding of cross-cultural racism. The US was seemingly built on a foundation of equality and independence, however, the way in which the colonies established themselves was through the labor and exploitation of enslaved Africans. This injustice to the African people is a complete injustice and exercise in hypocrisy to African people based on the color of their skin. What is most troublesome is the way in which the colonizers justified their actions. Many claimed that they were importing slaves for religious purposes, they wanted to save the heathens from an eternity in hell. Even worse, they claimed that the use of the African people was predetermined as a punishment for their “fall from grace.”
Winant’s comment on cross-cultural racism beautifully wraps the idea of the power of the state, which should be used for good but is often used for evil, into a perfect package.