Ethics and Critical Race Theory –CRT and Suspicion

Suspicion

Before I dive into what CRT is, it would help to understand some important factors that helped give rise to it. Paul Ricouer developed the hermeneutics of suspicion, in which we interpret literary texts with skepticism, to surface their hidden, even repressed, meanings. He was influenced by three seminal thinkers whom he called the “masters of suspicion”: Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud. These influences of suspicion have shaped Crits too.

For Marx, more or less, the structures of society serve to protect the interests of the majority group and oppress those of minority groups. The explanation of historical events is due to differences between classes (historical materialism), not individual conscious motives, choices. Nietzsche contributed the view that while we used to think morals were universal truths, they really are just expressions of power, the will to dominate others. Freud added that we used to think that our behavior was due basically to our conscious thoughts and choices. Instead, the unconscious is really why we behave as we do (e.g., due to fathers and sexuality).

CRT employs this overall attitude of suspicion to at least three main areas in its critique of westernized societies. First is a suspicion of appeals to universal rights, freedom, equality, and dignity of all. So often, these are just words and empty promises. And, by focusing primarily on abstract, universal principles, we can overlook the suffering of particular people.

Second is a suspicion of liberalism, i.e., our form of government that focuses on the good of the individual as the subject of universal rights. Yet, so often, we focus on having fair procedures. But, these can end up being undermined in practice. Third is a suspicion of meritocracy. For Crits, it is a myth that we all can improve our lots by hard work and achievement.

What then is CRT? Let me quote at length the UCLA School of Public Affairs:

“CRT recognizes that racism is engrained in the fabric and system of the American society. The individual racist need not exist to note that institutional racism is pervasive in the dominant culture. This is the analytical lens that CRT uses in examining existing power structures. CRT identifies that these power structures are based on white privilege and white supremacy, which perpetuates the marginalization of people of color. CRT also rejects the traditions of liberalism and meritocracy. Legal discourse says that the law is neutral and colorblind, however, CRT challenges … liberalism and meritocracy as a vehicle for self-interest, power, and privilege. CRT also recognizes that liberalism and meritocracy are often stories heard from those with wealth, power, and privilege. These stories paint a false picture of meritocracy; everyone who works hard can attain wealth, power, and privilege while ignoring the systemic inequalities that institutional racism provides.”[1]

We can notice at least two of these forms of suspicion (liberalism and meritocracy) mentioned explicitly herein. The other one, with its suspicion of appeals to moral rights, equality, and dignity, seems to be embedded in claims such as that the power structures, which are dominated by the white majority, marginalize and oppress people of color.

CRT’s Development

Now, the development of CRT has had several significant, shaping influences. First, critical legal studies has, in part, helped foster the belief that law is mainly about power and not morals.[2] But, it did not originate that belief. Long before, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes divorced law from morality. As Albert Alschuler notes, for Holmes, “[a] law should be called good if it reflects the will of the dominant forces of the community even if it will take us to hell.”[3]

A second influence has come through the work of Michel Foucault. He helped develop the view that “power is transmitted, normalized, and internalized through social institutions,” which socializes people “into compliance with norms that serve controlling group interests.”[4] Third, radical feminism provided insights into how power relates to the construction of social roles, as well as the largely unnoticed patterns and habits that contribute to forms of domination (e.g., from patriarchy).

A fourth influence has come through the work of Jacques Derrida and his deconstructionist thought. Derrida denied that there are any essential natures which would define something as the kind of thing it is, or as what some author or speaker really meant. Instead, everything is interpretation. So-called universal truths (including moral ones) are power moves.

In the next blog, I will try to give examples of some key Crits. Then, I will explain several of CRT’s key tenets. Last, I will surface several of CRT’s key ethical views.

[1] “What is critical race theory?” UCLA School of Public Affairs: Critical Race Studies, https://spacrs.wordpress.com/what-is-critical-race-theory/, accessed June 16, 2022 (emphasis in original).

[2] For a discussion of CRT in relation to CLS, see Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, Critical Race Theory: An Introduction, 3rd ed. (New York: New York University Press, 2017).

[3] Albert W. Alschuler, Law Without Values: The Life, Work, and Legacy of Justice Holmes (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002), 59.

[4] Özlem Sensoy and Robin DiAngelo, Is Everyone Really Equal? 2nd ed., in Multicultural Education Series, ed. James A. Banks (New York: Teachers College Press, 2017), 75–76.