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Racialism
Definitions
- 1 The belief that humans can be categorized as belonging to distinct races, each race being characterized by fixed and heritable traits. countable, uncountable
"Racialism is at the heart of nineteenth-century attempts to develop a science of racial difference, but it appears to have been believed by others—like Hegel, before then, and Crummell and many Africans since—who have had no interest in developing scientific theories."
- 2 discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race wordnet
- 3 Racism, the belief in the existence of different races and that some are superior to others; policies or practices which promote the dominance of one or more races over others. countable, uncountable
"This is The Lie of North American Superiority — an assumption based mainly on our superior living standard. […] This Lie of Superiority, this ill-disguised racialism in us who are always denouncing racialism in other people, is more than an unpleasant breach of good manners. It has deep and evil effects upon the affairs of the world."
- 4 Tribalism, nationalism. British, countable, dated, uncountable
"The modern dogma of nationalism, as maintained by a class of theoretic politicians (and which might more properly be called racialism [italics in original] — leaving nationalism to denote the recent modified application of socialism in pol. econ.)"
Etymology
From racial + -ism. Coined in 1882 based on the older use of "race" as a synonym of "nation, tribe, ethnic group", later senses (from 1890) from the use of "race" for racial categories.
See also for "racialism"
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