Abstract

This dissertation addresses the continuing vitality of racism in America as a problem of group oppression. It traces the influence of these dominative structures to mainstream interpretations given to the very Constitutional provisions that nominally seek to oppose racism. Developments in both sociological literature on race, and Black literary theory and criticism now make it possible to question the coherency of the "race" concept. The insights of contemporary race theory permit a fresh critical assessment of legal or policy-oriented methods of addressing group oppression in the United States. ;Thus, it is argued that the solutions offered by liberal individualism to the problem of human vulnerability to oppression are unacceptable in a plural society such as the United States where group-based discrimination persists. It is argued that the racialization of human populations is the power play that permits the dehumanization of social groups and the annihilation of group identities based in culture. The liberal view of the moral subject is criticized on two grounds. First, it fails to account for the value of community. Second, the substantive norm of equality of opportunity requires that background inequalities be accounted for in policy, and taking background inequalities into account requires an expansive, intersubjective view of the moral subject. Finally, the concept of the social group, which has been neglected in political theory, is developed; and the conclusions of this analysis are applied to an exposition of the historical claim of African Americans to reparations