Frieder Otto Wolf began by pointing out that UNESCO had already made it clear in 1950 that there are no clearly definable distinctions that allow people to be divided into races.
But even today, the “need for racism”, which also arises from the fear of individuals and their desire for support and perspectives for action, is exploited by mass movements. The basis for this, according to Wolf, is a modernization of the concept of racism. The modernization into a neo-racism also works without the scientifically false assertion that human races exist in the biological sense.
“Especially in Germany, where colonialist racism has remained comparatively marginalized despite its promotion during the Wilhelminian era, this kind of neo-racism is historically particularly strongly anchored, which promises to consolidate identities threatened by diffuse fears by projecting an ‘alien enemy’,” says Wolf. This modern racism can take on media-effective forms, as it appears to be less aggressive than earlier forms of racism.
However, this is also based on the scientifically untenable idea that there have been “unmixed cultures” or peoples in human history, which is why Frieder Otto Wolf reminded us: “The migration of individuals and groups of people is an important moment throughout human history.”
Anti-racism is therefore a task of growing importance for organized humanism in order to shape the migration present in European and globalized life in a humane way. Because the new forms of racism are also “above all a very practical attack on freedom and self-determination as core moments of human dignity and humanity”.
More on the topic:
You can read Frieder Otto Wolf’s statement on diesseits.de.
