Capitalism, racism and the development of social asymmetries: an essay with a view to problematizing ethnic-racial inequalities

Abstract

The present study aimed to present a critical-reflexive and problematizing analysis of Brazilian racism and how it is being constituted in parallel with the development of the capitalist system. It is, methodologically, an essayistic work, based on bibliographies and ideals of authors from the debate related to the object of this essay, such as, for example, Gomes (2005); Almeida (2017); Batista and Mastrodi (2018); among others considered equally important regarding the theme. To this end, the text was systematized as follows: a) In the introductory part, we will reflect on the relationship between the development of capitalism and the emergence of the bases that give rise to (structural and institutional) racism in Brazilian society and the way in which “bodies blacks” are affected; b) In the second section, we briefly reflect on some aspects of a (black) body that “can do almost nothing”; continuing this section, we will relate the processes and consequences of racism within the organizational construction of our society; c) In the third section, we turn our attention to issues related to racism, understanding it as a tool for deepening social asymmetries; d) Finally, we wove our considerations suggesting an immutable criticality regarding the theme and an alliance between (black) bodies as a means of resistance, as well as LGBT, disabled, indigenous bodies, etc., with the premise of contributing to the promotion of a fair, humane and egalitarian society – in which difference is not seen as a synonymous of inequality and, much less, of a person's skin color being a determining factor for their personal and professional advancement. Considering the need to overcome the ultraneoliberalist paradigm, whose usual strategy blames the subject for his situation of vulnerability, and the current Brazilian political and social moment, resulting from the recent Bolsonaro government – symbol of these issues – we propose to reflect on the Brazilian scenario in intersection with the areas of education, health and social assistance, which were drastically affected and demobilized mainly in the last four years (2019-2022).