Racism functions as hegemonic practice securing dominance favorable to economic development

Evidence

One must start, then, from the concrete historical “work” which racism accomplishes under specific historical conditions—as a set of economic, political, and ideological practices, of a distinctive kind, concretely articulated with other practices in a social formation. These practices ascribe the positioning of different social groups in relation to one another with respect to the elementary structures of society; they fix and ascribe those positionings in ongoing social practices; they legitimate the positions so ascribed. In short, they are practices which secure the hegemony of a dominant group over a series of subordinate ones, in such a way as to dominate the whole social formation in a form favorable to the long-term development of the economic productive base. Though the economic aspects are critical, as a way of beginning, this form of hegemony cannot be understood as operating purely through economic coercion. … Racism is not present, in the same form or degree, in all capitalist formations: it is not necessary to the concrete functioning of all capitalisms. It needs to be shown how and why racism has been specifically overdetermined by and articulated with certain capitalisms at different stages of their development. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 635

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines racism as a set of concrete practices that ascribe, fix, and legitimate group positionings — a hegemony-securing mechanism rather than a mere attitude.
• XREF: Gramsci’s hegemony and Althusserian overdetermination/articulation converge here; core to Hall’s economic reading of cultural politics. — connects to: Racism becomes hegemonic when subordinated groups consent to naturalized hierarchy. — Cyra Akila Choudhury, Racecraft and Identity in the Emergence…, 461