Some remarks on contemporary racism

Far from being a past or obsolete phenomenon, racism is branching out and spreading in many forms today. The scope of the concept of racism remains, however, difficult to demarcate. So is the differentiation of this term from other notions that designate similar attitudes, behaviors and practices. This paper discusses some issues of current interest in relation to racism, starting with the link between the terms "racism" and race, and debating the current distancing and even separation of the two concepts, despite the linguistic link. The paper also analyzes various definitions and perspectives on racism. Some content issues are approached, such as the fact that racism is, as contrary to some shared attitudes such as xenophobia, both an ideology or theory and a set of exclusionary and marginalizing practices. Furthermore, different forms of racism are addressed, from 'classical', biological racism, which resorted to biological differentiations, to the forms of racism that characterize the contemporary world, which emphasize cultural differences and/or include racist views and practices embedded in social values, norms and even in the functioning of society. These present-day forms of racism have been referred to by various expressions, such as cultural racism, differential racism, symbolic racism, racism without races, neo-racism, and institutional racism. Some conclusions are drawn from these delimitations, discussions and reflections, such as that maybe it might be more accurate to speak of racisms in the plural, given that the hypothesis of multiple racisms is increasingly confirmed by practice, as well as the fact that not only multiple racisms but also multiple dogmata should be considered in order to have a comprehensive overview of exclusion, marginalization, oppression, exploitation or discrimination.