CRT

 

What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack?

By Stephen Sawchuk — May 18, 2021 

Critical race theory is an academic concept that is more than 40 years old. The core idea is that race is a social construct, and that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies.

This academic understanding of critical race theory differs from representation in recent popular books and, especially, from its portrayal by critics—often, though not exclusively, conservative Republicans. Critics charge that the theory leads to negative dynamics, such as a focus on group identity over universal, shared traits; divides people into “oppressed” and “oppressor” groups; and urges intolerance.

All these different ideas grow out of longstanding, tenacious intellectual debates. Critical race theory emerged out of postmodernist thought, which tends to be skeptical of the idea of universal values, objective knowledge, individual merit, Enlightenment rationalism, and liberalism—tenets that conservatives tend to hold dear.

難しい問題だね。

人種差別は厳然たる事実で、個々に存在するし、また、社会のなかでかなり広範な範囲で存在する。法律や政策において差別的運用があるのも事実だろう。しかし、かといって、大雑把に、白人対黒人、白人対有色人　という枠組みで物語ると亀裂が再生産、拡大するという危険もある。また、そこから社会的経済的に取り残された白人はどうなる、という問題もある。