How did capitalism reproduce racism, racial power, or eurocentrism?
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
The Reproduction of Racism, Racial Power, and Eurocentrism in Capitalism
Capitalism, as a socio-economic system, has played a significant role in reproducing and perpetuating racism, racial power dynamics, and Eurocentrism. Through its inherent structures and mechanisms, capitalism has historically reinforced and entrenched systems of racial hierarchy, discrimination, and cultural dominance. By examining the ways in which capitalism intersects with race and ethnicity, we can better understand how these systems of oppression are not only preserved but actively reproduced within the capitalist framework.
Thesis Statement
Capitalism reproduces racism, racial power dynamics, and Eurocentrism through processes such as colonial exploitation, labor exploitation, and cultural hegemony, perpetuating hierarchies of power and privilege that continue to shape social relations and economic structures around the world.
Colonial Exploitation and Racial Capitalism
One of the key ways in which capitalism reproduces racism is through colonial exploitation and the establishment of racial capitalism. Historically, European colonial powers used racial hierarchies to justify the exploitation of indigenous peoples and communities for labor and resources. This racialized form of capitalism not only enriched colonial powers but also established enduring systems of racial oppression and inequality that persist to this day. By relegating certain populations to subordinate economic roles based on race, capitalism perpetuates racial power dynamics that benefit dominant groups at the expense of marginalized communities.
Labor Exploitation and Racialized Inequality
Moreover, capitalism reproduces racism through labor exploitation and the creation of racialized inequalities in the workforce. From slavery and indentured servitude to modern-day wage labor, capitalism has consistently relied on the devaluation of racialized labor to maximize profits and maintain social control. By exploiting racialized communities as cheap and disposable labor pools, capitalism reinforces racial hierarchies that privilege certain groups while marginalizing others. This systemic exploitation not only perpetuates economic disparities along racial lines but also reinforces racial stereotypes and prejudices that justify unequal treatment in the workplace.
Cultural Hegemony and Eurocentric Norms
Additionally, capitalism reproduces Eurocentrism through cultural hegemony and the imposition of Western norms and values as universal standards. The global spread of capitalism has been accompanied by the exportation of Eurocentric cultural narratives, aesthetics, and ideologies that privilege white Euro-American perspectives at the expense of diverse cultural traditions. This cultural homogenization reinforces racist stereotypes, erases non-Western histories and identities, and perpetuates a hierarchy of knowledge that marginalizes voices from non-dominant cultures. By centering Eurocentric perspectives as the norm within capitalist societies, racism is reproduced through the exclusion and erasure of non-white voices and experiences.
Conclusion
In conclusion, capitalism’s reproduction of racism, racial power dynamics, and Eurocentrism is a pervasive and enduring phenomenon that continues to shape social relations, economic structures, and cultural norms around the world. By examining how capitalism intersects with race and ethnicity through processes such as colonial exploitation, labor exploitation, and cultural hegemony, we can gain insight into the ways in which racism is not only sustained but actively reproduced within capitalist systems. Only by confronting these deep-rooted systems of oppression can we hope to build a more just and equitable society that dismantles hierarchies of power and privilege based on race, ethnicity, and culture.
