Racism As A Scavenger Ideology

The definition of race, and racism, as a ‘scavenger ideology’ stems from the concept that it ‘borrows’ definitions and applications from anything that the ideology can be meaningfully tied to. The concept of ‘race’ draws elements from social constructs such as xenophobia, religious bigotry, nationalism and essentialism; as well as pseudoscientific ‘strains’ of anthropology, biology and eugenics. The basis of a ‘scavenger ideology’ is to be adaptable and versatile by picking up, or abandoning, previous values from social, economic and political cues in society, rather than a strict set of unchanging values. These values are then implemented within the society, to the advantage of the dominant class, as the definition includes or excludes individuals …show more content…
With the transition into a new post-slavery society occurring, definitions regarding race needed to be made as a means to grasp onto the previous white dominance society. The ideology of race used the society’s desire to return to a pre-Civil War atmosphere, and was used as a way to justify the ill-treatment of African Americans. The ideology took into account white supremacist ideologies, poor science, such as the idea that Africans were biologically inferior, and false genetic science based on ancestry as a means of deciding who was African-American. Jim Crow was the articulation of black inferiority, white supremacy and the racist ideology implemented into a new …show more content…
The Whites were obviously the hegemon, followed by the Coloureds, the Asians and finally the Blacks. The South African Population Registration Act of 1950 required all individuals to carry an identity card complete with a photo and an allocation to one ‘race’. Officials took note of ancestry, social habits and friends, as well as physical attributes such as hair, eyes, skin and bone structure to identify an individuals race. The main purpose of the series of racially segregating laws of apartheid was to indirectly restrict all blacks; either forcing them to work for the Republic as lower class citizens, or to live in native reservations called Homelands. These Homelands occupied less than 14% of the country’s land, and were wastelands with few resources, no industrial cities or seaports. The urban society of the Republic had blatant racial segregation, with all privileges and freedoms given to the whites. It was important for the whites in Apartheid society to categorise Blacks as lower class, as it supplied them with a cheap labour force. The defining factor of apartheid, determining an individuals race, was far from concrete. Race took into account ancestry, religion, education, skills, public opinion, personal interests and local whites. The definition of race as a scavenger ideology is most conspicuous in Apartheid South Africa