{"id":11362,"date":"2025-05-14T09:56:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T13:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/?p=11362"},"modified":"2025-05-14T09:57:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T13:57:20","slug":"module-14-the-last-powerful-module","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/2025\/05\/14\/module-14-the-last-powerful-module\/","title":{"rendered":"Module 14 The last Powerful Module"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1. Gilmore says capitalism won\u2019t stop being racial capitalism even \u201cif all the white people disappear from the story.\u201d What\u2019s the connection between \u201cwhiteness\u201d and racism, do you think?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to Ruth Wilson Gilmore, the connection between whiteness and racism isn\u2019t just about skin color or individuals who identify as white\u2014it\u2019s about a system. \u201cWhiteness\u201d here refers to a social position of power that developed historically through the structures of capitalism and colonialism. Over time, those in power created the idea of race to justify exploiting others, and whiteness became a symbol of dominance, entitlement, and protection under the law and economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gilmore is making a powerful point: racism doesn\u2019t need individual white people to function. Even if every white person were removed from the picture, the system itself would still produce inequality and division through racial hierarchies. That\u2019s because capitalism depends on difference\u2014it needs some people to be treated as less valuable, less deserving, or more punishable, in order to maintain power and profit for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, \u201cwhiteness\u201d is not just a skin tone\u2014it\u2019s a position that gets defined and redefined over time to keep inequality in place. And racism is the mechanism that keeps that system running. That\u2019s why Gilmore says we can\u2019t end racism without confronting and dismantling capitalism itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Gilmore says \u201cthe category of \u2018criminal person\u2019 can be perpetuated.\u201d How does the prison system create new \u201ccriminals\u201d? Do you agree with her view?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gilmore argues that the prison system doesn\u2019t just punish existing criminals\u2014it actually produces<\/em> them. Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Expansion of criminal laws<\/strong>: More behaviors are labeled as crimes, especially those linked to poverty, race, or survival\u2014like loitering, trespassing, or drug use.
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Longer sentences and harsher punishments<\/strong>: People get stuck in the system for longer, making it harder to reenter society.
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Cycle of criminalization<\/strong>: Once someone is labeled a criminal, society treats them differently\u2014jobs are harder to find, housing is restricted, voting rights may be taken. This increases the chance they\u2019ll be arrested again.
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Constant supply of \u201celigible\u201d people<\/strong>: The system relies on having a steady flow of bodies to incarcerate, which means communities\u2014especially Black, Brown, and poor communities\u2014are constantly surveilled and targeted.
    <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    So in Gilmore\u2019s view, the system needs people to be criminalized in order to justify its own existence. It\u2019s not just reacting to crime\u2014it\u2019s manufacturing it through policy, policing, and economic inequality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I personally agree with her analysis. When you look at who fills prisons in the U.S., it\u2019s overwhelmingly people from marginalized backgrounds. Many are there for non-violent offenses or simply because they\u2019re poor. That tells us the system isn\u2019t just about justice it\u2019s about control and profit. If we want to stop this cycle, we have to rethink how we define \u201ccrime\u201d and who gets labeled as a criminal in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Describe how you understand what Prof. Gilmore \u2013 in the last part of her video \u2013 calls \u201cliberation struggle.\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    At the end of the video, Prof. Gilmore talks about \u201cliberation struggle\u201d as something that is deeply local, place-based, and rooted in real people’s lives. It\u2019s not just about big slogans or national movements\u2014it starts with people organizing in their communities to fight for dignity, safety, and freedom. She gives the example of Cova da Moura in Lisbon, where people built their own homes and resisted being displaced by the city government. Their fight wasn\u2019t just about houses\u2014it was about preserving their community, identity, and autonomy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Liberation, in Gilmore\u2019s view, means creating the conditions where people can live freely and fully, with access to resources, care, education, and safety. It\u2019s about undoing systems that treat people as disposable\u2014like prisons, racist policing, or economic abandonment\u2014and replacing them with structures that support life, culture, and mutual support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    She also sees solidarity as essential to liberation. That means we can\u2019t just care about our own struggles\u2014we have to connect with others, listen, and learn together. She calls this \u201cradical dependency\u201d\u2014understanding that we need each other, and that liberation is something we build with<\/em> others, not just for<\/em> ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So liberation struggle is both a political fight and a communal, emotional, and spiritual one. It\u2019s about transforming the conditions of life so that people can not only survive, but thrive\u2014together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    1. Gilmore says capitalism won\u2019t stop being racial capitalism even \u201cif all the white people disappear from the story.\u201d What\u2019s the connection between \u201cwhiteness\u201d and racism, do you think? According to Ruth Wilson Gilmore, the connection between whiteness and racism isn\u2019t just about skin color or individuals who identify as white\u2014it\u2019s about a system. \u201cWhiteness\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10317,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discussion-board-14-1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10317"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11363,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11362\/revisions\/11363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0504-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}