Racial Capitalisms: Race, Caste, Ethnicity, and Indigeneity in Economic Life

Interest in racial capitalism, a term initially coined by Cedric Robinson, has galvanized scholars and activists alike in recent years. Studies in racial capitalism requires seeing "the economy" as a set of institutions rooted in historicized systems of racial formation and inequity. From this perspective, economic processes not only have racially uneven effects; instead, the institutions of economic life are thoroughly structured by racialized differences in the first place. In this session, we take up these themes, expanding them to include differences based on caste, ethnicity, and Indigeneity (hence the plural capitalisms). Papers will address questions such as: Why are economic positions (i.e. jobs, access to capital, etc.) so closely interlinked with relations of race, caste, ethnicity, and Indigeneity? Through what practices and processes are these differences upheld, confronted, or undermined? How have thinkers from various places and communities conceptualized these processes and their often-pernicious effects? What histories do such differences depend on, and how do they shape contemporary economic life? How do various historical and geographic forms of racial capitalism (and its analogues) compare? This session will offer an opportunity to think comparatively about racial capitalisms across contexts in order to generate more robust comparative frameworks.