Theory, Activism and Dialectics: Perplexities of Antiracism and Antiraciology in the Discourses of World-System Analysis

Racism and raciology has been typically considered by the representatives of the world-system perspective as the problem linked to the question of the sources of peoplehood, which defines one of the most critical aspects of the capitalist geoculture: a question of differences and correlations between peoples (races, nations, ethnic groups) as a constructed category and classes as an objective reality (in Marxian and Weberian terms). In my paper I briefly present: 1) original Wallerstein’s conceptualization of installation of race and racism within the logic of the modern world-system, 2) correction of that doctrine provided by Étienne Balibar, 3) outline of James Blaut’s theory of cultural racism. Next (4) I will use all the three proposals as means of critical examination of the presence (or lack thereof) of race/antiracism in discourses of some contemporary social movement. Concluding sections of the paper refer to the prospects of progressive antiracist initiatives and their evaluation from the perspective of critical theory of democracy.