The Racial Contract, educational equity, and emancipatory ideological critique

Abstract

Charles Mills' major text, The Racial Contract, is a radical liberal intervention in contractarian political philosophy. It argues that in the US today, the social contract ideologically (mis-)represents itself as a colorblind agreement that exemplifies our “post-racist” conditions. Mills holds that once we pierce the misrepresentations that characterize this legitimation discourse, we can see that the majority of whites tend to subscribe, either literally or implicitly, to a supplemental “racial contract.” Under its terms, most whites collude in hoarding sociopolitical resources and educational opportunities for themselves, while disavowing their concerted efforts and subscribing to a wide range of self-serving myths pertaining to the cultural inferiority of the so-called black “underclass.” In this sense, Mills predicts that a critical analysis of the basic structure will reveal systematic and deeply engrained forms of de facto racism throughout major institutions. Drawing on a wide variety of literatures, including normative political theory, critical race theory, the sociology of education, and Constitutional analysis, I demonstrate that Mill's argument offers a particularly fruitful approach to an analysis of school segregation and, in particular, to understanding the structure of the US Supreme Court's decision in the landmark case, Parents Involved (2007). I nevertheless challenge Mills to give us a more precise and comprehensive definition of the moral duties of whites who inhabit these conditions; in particular, I call attention to the decisions made by white parents and teachers who tend to promote segregative outcomes.