ABSTRACT
As the world lurches forward into the twenty-first century, there is widespread confusion and anxiety about the political significance, and even the meaning, of race. In this chapter I argue that far from becoming less politically central, race defines and organises the world’s future, as it has done for centuries. I challenge the idea that the world, or the national societies I briefly consider in comparative light, is moving beyond race. I suggest that the future of democracy itself depends on the outcomes of racial politics and policies, as they develop both in various national societies and in the world at large. This means that the future of democracy also depends on the concept of race, the meaning that is attached to race. Contemporary threats to human rights and social well-being – including the resurgent dangers of fascism, increasing impoverishment, and massive social polarisation – can be managed or even understood without paying new and better attention to issues of race. Thus this chapter is a preliminary effort to provide a set of conceptual tools that can facilitate this task.
