Pessimism of the intellect, cruel optimism of the will Article Swipe

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Victor Ray ·

YOU? · · 2023 · Open Access · · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2023.2173530 · OA: W4376137965

This article contributes to the symposium on Meer’s The Cruel Optimism of Racial Justice. I highlight Meer’s contributions to ongoing debates over the fragility of racial progress and how white supremacist policy and ideology have become normalized. During a moment of rising global nationalist movements maintaining a realist perspective about racial progress is imperative. However, realism about the depth and power of racist structures does not mean abandoning hope that harm-reducing policies are possible. I conclude by highlighting Gowayed’s recent scholarship on differing state responses to incorporating refugees, showing that some policies of racial states – while far from perfect – can reduce relative harms.