A Critical Race Equation

CRT — R = CT

Photo by Roman Mager on Unsplash

Too many opponents of Critical Race Theory demonized the doctrine by calling it Marxist with no further explanation. That gave the impression those doing the demonizing were the only ones afraid of the doctrine.

There’s no reason to demonize the term Marxist. In general, it’s a critique of capitalism. However, Marx was more than an economist. Marx was a philosopher, historian, sociologist, political theorist, and revolutionary. The term Marxism isn’t confined to economic theory. Marxist thinkers have developed theories in all of the social sciences throughout the 20th century. The term is also used to describe a worldview.

Now, here’s a critical race equation: CRT — R = CT

I’ll spell it out: Critical Race Theory — Race = Critical Theory.

What’s critical theory?

No matter where you look, every definition of Critical Theory defines it as a Western-Marxist philosophy, but that doesn’t demonize it. In general, critical theory is a critique of society and culture to reveal and challenge power structures. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states, “Any philosophical approach with similar practical aims could be a critical theory, including feminism, critical race theory, and some forms of post-colonial criticism.”