Racial Capitalism and the Propaganda of Conservative Economics

In their article Racial Capitalism and the Propaganda of Conservative Economics, Prentiss Dantzler and Jason Hackworth identify one modern component of racial capitalism that has rarely been discussed in extant work: the role of conservative economics at legitimating racial capitalist processes. The authors engage in a broader conversation about the intersections between discourse and structure before discussing how conservative economics supports and reinforces racial capitalism.

Prentiss Dantzler is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Founding Director of the Housing Justice Lab within the School of Cities at the University of Toronto. He is project director of Housing Assistance, Neighbourhood Change and Residential Mobility and is affiliate CGSP faculty.

Citation

Dantzler, P., & Hackworth, J. (2025). Racial Capitalism and the Propaganda of Conservative Economics. Journal of Black Studies, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347251350966

Abstract

Racial capitalism has been an active terrain of political economy debate since the 1970s, but the last 5 years have seen a wider diffusion of the concept. We identify one modern component of racial capitalism that has seldom been discussed in extant work: the role of conservative economics at legitimating racial capitalist processes. To this end, we raise the following question: What does a narrative of support for racial capitalism look like in contemporary political economies, where racism denial is pervasive in political discourse, and trust in authorities are at an all-time low? We submit that narratives legitimating contemporary racial capitalism exist, but they are more subtle, indirect, and more plausibly deniable than the narratives that supported chattel slavery and the 100 years of Jim Crow that followed. The Civil Rights Era provided a legal basis for anti-discrimination efforts previously diluted by American jurisprudence and law. In this essay, we engage in a broader conversation about the intersections between discourse and structure before explicating exactly how conservative economics supports and reinforces racial capitalism. Explicating the components of this architecture is crucial to illustrating the value of racial capitalist approaches within the political economy canon.