Race is describable as categories that human beings are grouped in based on physical and ethnic characteristics that are distinctive. According to the author of the article, "race as a social conflict," Helmut Nyborg, the issue of racism has for many years been used as a way to establish distinct limitations for some groups socially while upholding the rights of others as being superior. According to the author, the race is a concept that was created in the minds of human beings and had no biological backing as to why one group must be viewed to be more intelligent than the other ( Nyborg, 2019 ). The efforts by scientists to research biological differences that make groups like the white superior to others is an aspect of disruptive racism. Racism still exists and has been systemized through socialization such that oppressed groups like the blacks also discriminate against themselves.
Relevance
The topic is crucial as it helps to learn more about ethnic groups in social terms rather than biologically. In essence, it analyzes the various methods used to justify inequalities, for instance, in the USA. I wanted to understand why the black people form the largest population of people living in poverty and are mostly viewed as criminals ( Prechel & Berkowitz, 2018 ). This area of research will increase equality by viewing human beings as equal both socially and biologically.
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Author's Credentials
The author is a former professor of psychology and has taught in various universities such as Aarhus. He has a degree in developmental psychology, which does his research in sociological issues such as racism authentic.
Research Method
The article mainly relies on secondary data by reviewing the works and findings by scientists such as Dubois and data from organizations such as UNESCO ( Nyborg, 2019 ). Additionally, the author has used information from the geographic magazine, indicating that the data used in the analysis has been collected through the armchair research method.
Findings
Science cannot explain the social aspects of various groups or justify groups as having distinct biological characteristics. For instance, different groups can trace their genetic markers to one root based on biology, showing that human beings belong to one race ( Nyborg, 2019 ). Racism in countries like the USA has been used for centuries to maintain power with one group. This ability to construct racism in people's minds has become possible through the use of tools such as stereotypes. For instance, the Hispanics and Latinas are viewed as criminals inclined to drug trafficking, while blacks are viewed as being violent. These stereotypes are used to justify the bias in the justice system against these groups.
In essence, this information supports the discussions in the course work. It helps understand why the USA's governments have upheld policies in the past that limit ownership of property by blacks. These policies have played a part in ensuring the maintenance of gaps between these groups by ensuring the lack of access to education for the blacks to uphold the idea that one group is more intelligent than the other ( Lavalley & Johnson, 2020 ). This discussion is in line with the conflict theory's ideas as it shows years of competition between various ethnic groups over which group control the political and economic institutions.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The article analyses scientific details such as a genetic mutation in details, which helps to understand that all humans are biologically equal. On the other hand, the article analyses views of various sources, including UN agencies. This fact makes the article more convincing as the argument is based on more than one source.
However, the argument focuses too much on scientific data rather than social issues, for instance, within the political arena that indicate racism's social construction. The failure to use other qualitative research methods such as observation and interviews weakens the argument since the issue of argument is existent in the present.
Essentially, further research on areas like sports would help understand the view that racism is only a creation of the mind. For instance, there is a need to understand the history of the Olympics and the discriminations that occurred based on color ( Nierenberg, 2020) . Also, it would be helpful to analyze the performance of athletes of color today against that of other races.
Conclusions
This article is eye-opening as it helps one to realize that racism and race could mean different things where one is about categorization while the other discrimination. It is crucial in explaining that racism is only a social creation for the convenience of some groups in the dominance over others. Despite there being little concentration on social issues such as the oppression of some groups based on their race, the article is well written. It seeks to disapprove scientific perspectives that justify racism through research on genetic mutation or geographic location. As explained, one learns that racism is a creation that emanates from how individuals are socialized. The article argues that biologically all humans are equal, and therefore, socially, they must engage equally. It will help ensure justice primarily through the deconstruction of stereotypes.
References
Lavalley, R., & Johnson, K. R. (2020). Occupation, injustice, and anti-Black racism in the United States of America. Journal of Occupational Science , 1-13.
Nierenberg, A. A. (2020). A Difficult Conversation about Race, Racism, and Anti-Racism. Psychiatric Annals , 50 (11), 475-476.
Nyborg, H. (2019). Race as Social Construct. Psych , 1 (1), 139-165.
Prechel, H., & Berkowitz, L. (2018) Conflict Theories in Political Sociology.
