This chapter explores how the concept of “Racial Capitalism” can be applied to the phenomenon of antigypsyism. The concept focuses on the intersections between racism, capitalism, and social exclusion, and was developed, among others, by Cedric Robinson and Stuart Hall. It has been increasingly discussed in recent years by social theorists, including Étienne Balibar, Immanuel Wallerstein, Gargi Bhattacharyya, Nancy Fraser, and Satnam Virdee. I analyze these authors’ theories and ask whether they provide a basis for a critique of the racism directed against Roma. I argue that, as the “Racial Capitalism” concept is helpful in understanding the impacts of racism on the working and living conditions of Roma, Critical Romani Studies may benefit from adopting it. However, it offers little guidance for research into antigypsyism. This is because the concept focuses on the effects of racism, while the social conditions that give rise to and enable racism remain as much under-exposed as the particular features of various forms of racist thinking. Although a materialist approach, it lacks important materialist methods that are necessary for criticizing antigypsyism, such as tracing racist desires back to the capitalist form of social relations, critically evaluating bourgeois social norms, and explaining the psychological appeal of ideologies of essential inequality.

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What Is the Position of Roma in “Racial Capitalism”?

  • Anna-Sophie Schönfelder

摘要

This chapter explores how the concept of “Racial Capitalism” can be applied to the phenomenon of antigypsyism. The concept focuses on the intersections between racism, capitalism, and social exclusion, and was developed, among others, by Cedric Robinson and Stuart Hall. It has been increasingly discussed in recent years by social theorists, including Étienne Balibar, Immanuel Wallerstein, Gargi Bhattacharyya, Nancy Fraser, and Satnam Virdee. I analyze these authors’ theories and ask whether they provide a basis for a critique of the racism directed against Roma. I argue that, as the “Racial Capitalism” concept is helpful in understanding the impacts of racism on the working and living conditions of Roma, Critical Romani Studies may benefit from adopting it. However, it offers little guidance for research into antigypsyism. This is because the concept focuses on the effects of racism, while the social conditions that give rise to and enable racism remain as much under-exposed as the particular features of various forms of racist thinking. Although a materialist approach, it lacks important materialist methods that are necessary for criticizing antigypsyism, such as tracing racist desires back to the capitalist form of social relations, critically evaluating bourgeois social norms, and explaining the psychological appeal of ideologies of essential inequality.