This book, by prominent political thinker and philosopher Soely Carneiro, examines how race functions in Brazilian society, and why myths of racial democracy hold so much power in the country despite numerous ideological and cultural shifts.To understand this, Carneiro develops Foucault's notions of biopower and order and links them to Charles W. Mills's writings on the racial contract, creating the “system of race.” Carneiro argues that this concept operates through, on the one hand, “cognitive murder,” the process by which blacks are invalidated as conscious subjects, and, on the other hand, a complicity among whites regarding the social subordination and elimination of blacks.However, as with all systems, the system of racialization has its own resistance, and Carneiro also addresses black resistance, understood through the voices and testimonies of revolutionaries against subordination and epistemological murder.
Their words reveal that the power of resistance stems from the power of self-esteem, the awareness of their independence, and the triumph of memory and collective action. It is only through collective struggle, where care for self and others becomes liberating, that the system of racism can be confronted.This book is considered one of the most important works of political philosophy written in Brazil, as it sheds new light on the mechanisms through which racist regimes reproduce themselves, and how to break these patterns. It will be of great value to students and researchers of Brazilian Studies, Latin American Studies, and Black Studies, and will attract the interest of everyone interested in issues of race, racism, and the legacy of colonialism.
