Racism logically depends on the prior belief that animals and nature are inferior.

Evidence

But wait a minute! What idea has to be firmly in place in order to define some people as inferior based on their supposed similarity to animals? Why should that comparison work to rationalize killing or enslaving them? A key idea in an EcoJustice analysis of race and racism is that as a culturally created, discursively based phenomenon and set of experiences, racism (and even more broadly ethnocentrism) rests firmly on a foundation of anthropocentrism. That is, in a dualized system, the meaning of “human” depends upon a related, oppositional category, “non-human.” These two categories exist in a hierarchized relationship, with humans given more value. Thus, in order to successfully inferiorize and subjugate a group of people based on their likeness to animals, we must first have a deeply entrenched belief that animals, and in fact all of nature, is inferior to humans. Racism rests on, and depends upon anthropocentrism. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education, 1110

Categorization

• XREF: Directly pays off ch 12 claim that racism depends logically on the prior devaluation of animals. — connects to: A ranked thinking about beings underlies racism, sexism, and anthropocentrism alike — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 412; Racism depends logically on the prior devaluation of animals. — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 576; Racism may not require presuming intrinsic inferiority of the other — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 64 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Racism may not require presuming intrinsic inferiority of the other #qualifies (0.80) — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race, 64
• Prejudice includes judging out-groups by animal rather than human traits #exemplifies (0.80) — Cristian Tileagă, The Nature of Prejudice, 642
• Throughout history, conceptions of nature justified political hierarchies and racism. #corroborates (0.80) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 653
• Scientific racism followed from placing humans in the animal kingdom #exemplifies (0.75)