Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2022. — 276 p.
Dismantling Global White Privilege - Equity for a Post-Western World by Chandran Nair argues that the imperial age has left behind a global racial hierarchy that is still very much in place and forms of white privilege continue to be built into the structure of geopolitics, international business, culture, the media, education, fashion and sport. This book is very highly recommended as a standout blend of history and a call to action that will require much change on social, economic, and intellectual levels in order to fully address the issues of the privileged status quo that currently drives the world. With this book, Chandran Nair adds a timely, critical analysis of the impacts Western white privilege has had on the world outside the borders of the United States. Weaving together disparate threads, from apartheid South Africa to the global media system to the oligarchs of Wall Street and more, Nair dissects and exposes the system that has long benefited a minority at the expense of the rest. Chandran Nair’s Dismantling Global White Privilege is more than a cri de coeur—it offers the reader a practical path forward. The racial nature of global power has been overwhelmingly ignored. It has been so taken for granted that white people dominate virtually all areas of global power that it has come to be regarded as the natural order of things: the way the world should be and always will be. But a light is beginning to be shone on the previously invisible. Chandran Nair’s new book is a major contribution to making the invisible visible. It could hardly be more timely and deserves to be widely read. This is one of the great coming issues of our time. White privilege is a complex and politically polarizing term that has cropped up more often in recent years as Western society at last begins—belatedly and only in part—to reckon with the toxic legacy of white supremacy. In Dismantling Global White Privilege, Chandran Nair provides a readable and wide-ranging analysis of this term and the way white privilege continues to shape lives around the world. A timely work by an original thinker. This important book makes the case that “White privilege,” “Western privilege,” and “Western superiority” have been used interchangeably to justify the unjustifiable—the bigoted, prejudiced, and often brutal march to dominate world resources by White colonial powers. Written by an astute observer who has lived in both worlds, it analyzes the conscious and unconscious aspects of a system that has pushed the world to the brink of disaster and must be dismantled.
White privilege damages and distorts societies around the world, not just in the United States. This book exposes its pervasive global reach and creates a new space for discourse on worldwide racial equality. As Chandran Nair shows in this uncompromising new book, a belief in the innate superiority of White people and Western culture, once the driving force behind imperialism, is now woven into the very fabric of globalization. It is so insidious that, as Nair points out, even many non-White people have internalized it, judging themselves by an alien standard. It has no rival in terms of longevity, global reach, harm done, and continuing subversion of other cultures and societies. Nair takes a comprehensive look at the destructive influence of global White privilege. He examines its impact on geopolitics, the reframing of world history, and international business practices. In the soft-power spheres of White privilege—entertainment, the news media, sports, and fashion—he offers example after example of how White cultural products remain the aspirational standard. Even environmentalism has been corrupted, dominated by a White savior mentality whereby technologies and practices built in the West will save the supposedly underdeveloped, poorly governed, and polluted non-Western world. For all these areas, Nair gives specific suggestions for breaking the power of White privilege. It must be dismantled—not just because it is an injustice but also because we will be creating a post-Western world that has less conflict, is more united, and is better able to respond to the existential challenges facing all of us.
This book is dedicated to all those people from around the world who have suffered discrimination because of the color of their skin. It is also dedicated to those who enjoy White privilege but are honest enough to recognize it and are committed to changing the status quo. It is dedicated to all those who want to take action within their families, workplaces, and organizations to dismantle White privilege wherever they see it. It is dedicated to all of these people because they will need the strength, determination, and information to embark on an important journey—which will take at least a generation—as the global community transitions into a fairer, post-Western world.
Contents
Foreword
Preface: White Privilege: It’s Woven into the Fabric of Globalization
Introduction Black Lives Matter and the Tip of the Iceberg
Geopolitics of Dominance: The White Knights of Chess
The Retelling of History: This Version Ain’t Mine
The World of Business: Uneven Playing Fields
Media and Publishing: Captive Minds
Education: Schooling and Grooming
Culture and Entertainment: Gone with the Wind
Sports: Match Fixing
Fashion: Little Black Dress
Environment, Sustainability, and Climate Change: Zero Carbon and Other Myths
Conclusion How Change Happens: No Whitewash, Please!
Discussion Guide
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index