Race: In Between Natural Concept and Social Construct

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The concept of race is described as being between a natural concept and a social construct, more like a social construct inspired by a biological reality. This is explained using the analogy of time constructs where a day, matching the rising and setting of the sun, is a natural kind. In contrast, a seven-day week is a social construct as it is arbitrary and not based on any natural phenomenon. Finally, a month is also a social construct, as it does not correspond to any natural event like the beginning and end of February and March.

Yascha Mounk and Coleman Hughes discuss the difference between race blindness and racism blindness.

Coleman Hughes is a writer and the host of Conversations with Coleman. His new book is The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America.

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Coleman Hughes discuss why race is a poor proxy for setting public policy; why being colorblind doesn’t mean disregarding one’s own cultural affinities; and how we can continue to make progress against racial discrimination without making the concept of race ever more central to our culture and politics.

This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

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