Kerri Parke
Racism has plagued Australian society from the very beginning. Where does this bigotry come from? Some suggest that a fear of ‘the other’ is inherent to human nature, while others blame the ‘white working class’. Marxists reject these facile explanations, and argue instead that racism is consciously produced and reproduced by the ruling class to facilitate its dominance over the rest of us. While racist ideas are taken up broadly, their artificial nature means they can and should be challenged and overcome.