Race and Class in the Southwest: A Theory of Racial Inequality

by Mario Barrera

Overview

Focusing on the economic foundations of inequality as they have affected Chicanos in the Southwest from the Mexican-American War to the present, Mario Barrera develops his theory as a synthesis of class and colonial analyses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780268048570
Publisher:	University of Notre Dame Press
Publication date:	12/30/1979
Pages:	278
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Mario Barrera is professor emeritus of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Beyond Aztlan, which is also published by the University of Notre Dame Press, and co-producer of the documentary film Chicano Park.

Read an Excerpt

Chicano history could be said to start with the Mexican American War, an episode in the territorial expansion of Europe and European-derived societies that began in the fifteenth century. The manner in which the original Chicanos came about links Chicano history firmly with the history of other Third World people who have been subjected to the colonial experience in one or another of its forms. In this case, the imperial expansion of the United States resulted in internal colonialism, a condition which Chicanos have shared with other racial minorities. While the initial conquest affected only certain parts of the Southwest immediately and left others in a more or less peripheral state, the economic penetration which followed in the remainder of the nineteenth century eventually drew all parts of the area within the new order. As the interests of the American dominant class asserted themselves, the lands which remained under Chicano control were expropriated, in some cases rapidly and in others more gradually, and as likely as not under the color of law. It is perhaps in this expropriation that we can most clearly see the role the American state has played in creating and perpetuating the colonial status of Chicanos, although many other examples have been cited.

As part of that process of expropriation, but tied even more strongly to the exploitation of Chicano labor, a system of class segmentation was created in the nineteenth century that bound Chicanos to a structurally subordinate position in the society. With the waves of immigration that swept across the border in the early twentieth century, the numerical presence of Chicanos in the Southwest was greatly expanded. The structure of subordination, however, underwent only minor changes. During the Great Depression, thousands of Chicanos and Mexicanos were expelled from the Southwest as the labor market contracted. At the same time, important changes were made in the political economy of the United States, in particular the growing integration of the state and the economy. This development and others during the 1930s and 1940s set in motion a chain of events which have resulted in significant modifications in the class position of Chicanos in recent decades. Still, while some of these changes have resulted in a lessening of the harshness which has characterized the Chicano situation, the 1970s have brought some ominous trends. These include a new round of hysteria around the issue of undocumented workers, a broad-based backlash against minority demands, and a possible reemergence of marginality, this time on a more permanent basis. And while more Chicanos have become integrated or substantially integrated into the nonsubordinate part of the class structure, the segmentation line remains a major determining factor in most Chicanos' day-to-day reality. For the foreseeable future, the politics of the Chicano community can be expected to revolve around both class and colonial divisions in a complex manner whose outlines we can only dimly perceive in the current period of confusion and redefinition.

(excerpted from the conclusion)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. The Nineteenth Century, Part I: Conquest and Dispossession

3. The Nineteenth Century, Part II: The Establishment of a Colonial Labor System

4. From the Turn of the Century to the Great Depression

5. The Contemporary Period

6. The Role of the State

7. A Theory of Racial Inequality

Appendix: The Case of International Harvester

Editorial Reviews

Thoroughly researched, well-written and persuasively argued, this book is a must for those who would fully understand the complex position of the Chicano in U.S. society.” —Choice

“Barrera has attempted the important task of developing a theory of racial inequality relevant beyond its particular application to the Chicano experience. Any serious student of race relations and stratification in the U.S. will have to contend with his analysis.” —Contemporary Sociology

“ . . . an important contribution to the field. Barrera has successfully harnessed historical analysis, social criticism, and an aggressive empiricism to an analysis of a major moral, political, and public policy issue.” —Journal of Economic History

“Barrera’s study is a pioneering venture into a theoretical exploration of the Chicano experience. It is a book to be reckoned with by all students of ethnicity in the United States.” —New Mexico Historical Review

“This is a tightly organized, well-written work that provides a theoretical backdrop to Southwestern economic history.” —Library Journal

“Barrera has provided us with a work that is carefully documented, well researched, and thoroughly challenging. Reading this book is an experience no serious student in the field can afford to miss.” —Sociology: Reviews of New Books

From the Publisher

Thoroughly researched, well-written and persuasively argued, this book is a must for those who would fully understand the complex position of the Chicano in U.S. society.

Choice