ABSTRACT
A more effective starting point in the recognition that despite its uncertainties and contradictions, the concept of race continues to play a fundamental role in structuring and representing the social world. From a racial formation perspective, race is a matter of both social structure and cultural representation. To interpret the meaning of race is to frame it social structurally. Conversely, to recognize the racial dimension in social structure is to interpret the meaning of race. At the micro-social level, racial projects also link signification and structure, not so much as efforts to shape policy or define large-scale meaning, but as the applications of 'common sense.' Since racial formation is always historically situated, our understanding of the significance of race, and of the way race structures society, has changed enormously over time. It is important, therefore, to recognize that in many respects, racial dictatorship is the norm against which all US politics must be measured.
