Charles Mills The Racial Contract

In The Racial Contract, Charles Mills expands upon social contract theory, originally proposed by Rousseau, and assesses the role of race (phenotypical, genealogical, or cultural) in its formation and function within society. In doing so, Mills goes on to assert that, “The general purpose of the Contract is always the differential privileging of the whites as a group with respect to the nonwhites as a group, the exploitation of their bodies, land, and resources, and the denial of equal socioeconomic opportunities to them. All whites are beneficiaries of the Contract, though some whites are not signatories to it” (Mills, 11). Through this statement, Mills contends that race has always been a central facet of the way western society functions …show more content…
In simpler terms, “it is a contract between those categorized as white over the nonwhites, who are thus the objects rather than the subjects of the agreement” (Mills, 12). This is evident throughout history in the various ways nonwhites have been stripped of their personhood, from slavery to Jim Crow and beyond, in the name of white advancement. Taking all this into consideration, Mills is very explicitly critiquing the preceding form(s) of social contract theory which aimed to treat all humans as inherently equal in their being and function within society. By bringing race to the forefront of the discussion, Mills aims to highlight the exploitative and self-serving nature of social contract theory while undeniably asserting that, “From the inception, then, race is in no way an ‘afterthought,’ a ‘deviation’ from ostensibly raceless Western ideals, but rather a central shaping constituent of those ideals” (Mills, …show more content…
In many conversations of and about race, it’s easy for white individuals to feel attacked and become dismissive when asked to acknowledge their privilege. This is when Mills’ second claim, “All whites are beneficiaries of the Contract, though some whites are not signatories to it,” comes into play (Mills, 11). Through this statement, Mills acknowledges this proclivity for whites to either distance themselves or wholly disregard/subvert their privileges and the many regrettable acts that have historically accompanied them; however, at the end of the day, these privileges will remain, for they are inherent to whiteness regardless of choice. Similar to how nonwhites are regarded negatively or disadvantaged on the basis of their race, whites will continue to benefit on the basis of their race within the context of western society and it does not help anyone to state otherwise. However, since whites do hold most or all of the power within this agreement, this rejection of the racial contract is often what ends up happening because they have the ability to do so without consequence. Their truth is able to become universal without any regard for those whose experiences do not align and often times do not