Abolition Of White Democracy

by Joel Olson

Racial discrimination embodies inequality, exclusion, and injustice and as such has no place in a democratic society. And yet racial matters pervade nearly every aspect of American life, influencing where we live, what schools we attend, the friends we make, the votes we cast, the opportunities we enjoy, and even the television shows we watch. Joel Olson contends that, given the history of slavery and segregation in the United States, American citizenship is a form of racial privilege in which whites are equal to each other but superior to everyone else. In Olson’s analysis we see how the tension in this equation produces a passive form of democracy that discourages extensive participation in politics because it treats citizenship as an identity to possess rather than as a source of empowerment. Olson traces this tension and its disenfranchising effects from the colonial era to our own, demonstrating how, after the civil rights movement, whiteness has become less a form of standing and more a norm that cements white advantages in the ordinary operations of modern society. To break this pattern, Olson suggests an "abolitionist-democratic" political theory that makes the fight against racial discrimination a prerequisite for expanding democratic participation. Joel Olson is assistant professor of political science at Northern Arizona University.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Race, Theory, Anti Racist

230 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the most important political science book I've read in the last five years. Drawing on ideas of race advanced by Noel Ignatiev ("Race Traitor") and David Roediger ("The Wages of Whiteness"), Olson provides a compelling argument for the idea that the United States was not founded upon an idea of an ever-expanding democracy, but firmly on white-supremacist, racist democracy that must be uprooted if any true democratic ideals are to be reached.

Olson's conception of what he calls "white citizenship" as the basis for rights in the United States is persuasively argued; racism is not, as is often stated, simply an oversight on the part of the founders but rather endemic to the system as it was designed. Olson's historical excavation of a racialized citizenship, building upon Ignatiev, Roediger and others, has profound implications for twenty-first century democracy, implicating modern citizenship as a passive kind of privilege rather than a participatory right.

Expanding on W.E.B. DuBois' idea of the wages of whiteness -- that white workers receive material and psychological privileges as a result of white supremacy -- Olson explains that whiteness "does not make all whites absolute equals, but that was never the intent of white citizenship. It just ensures that no white ever need find himself or herself at the absolute bottom of the social and political barrel, because that position is already taken.”

Olson -- who I'm happy to say is a professor near where I grew up in rural northern Arizona -- has been active in radical politics, including the phenomenal organization Bring the Ruckus as well as Phoenix CopWatch. His radical goals and anti-authoritarian approach are apparent throughout the book, and lend an important mark of social change to his political and historical essays.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books. The theory is well thought out. The author is researched and cites relevant and reputable sources. He is careful in how he examines DuBois, he actively works against his white gaze and is determined on finding and rendering truths. A methodical and thoughtful approach was taken in writing this book. I'm saddened he is no longer here. In my opinion this is required reading for every American. He would have continued to provide us with excellent work. I recommend listing to this podcast episode to get a good analysis on the book: https://open.spotify.com/episode/48MP...

[karter stanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most compelling and informative books on radical democratic theory that I have read. Olson does a great job engaging the reader and making them understand why this theory is necessary, and the work that needs to be done to begin to dissolve white nationalism. I would put this book as an antithesis to something like "Hillbilly Elegy".

[Geo · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent account of race in the U.S. post-slavery context. it only lacks a bit of broader context, i.e. how patterns of racialization in the U.S. were informed by broader hemispheric influences.

[Truck Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. But really lacks in practical examples.