Different Paths

Journal of Law and Political Economy, vol. 1, pp. 46-77 (2020).

Georgia State University College of Law, Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2020-08

33 Pages Posted: 29 Oct 2020 Last revised: 3 Nov 2020

See all articles by Natsu Taylor Saito

Natsu Taylor Saito

Georgia State University College of Law

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 26, 2020

Abstract

A critical perspective on law and political economy requires an appreciation not only of how race, gender, sexuality, class, national origin, immigrant status, and other aspects of our identities intersect and interact, but also why they do so. Focusing on the United States as a settler colonial state, this essay suggests that the primary markers of identity used to oppress people are themselves the master's tools, i.e., constructs of the colonial project. Building on the late Stokely Carmichael's distinction between the paths of the exploited and the colonized, it argues that remediating status-based injustices will require us to go beyond a redistribution of social goods and resources, or even institutional restructuring, to challenge the paradigm that works to define and contain us - the one that propelled Western colonialism and now permeates not only the United States but legal, economic, and political institutions around the world.

Keywords: decolonization, identity, racism, patriarchy, settler colonialism, sovereignty

Suggested Citation

Saito, Natsu Taylor, Different Paths (October 26, 2020). Journal of Law and Political Economy, vol. 1, pp. 46-77 (2020)., Georgia State University College of Law, Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2020-08, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3719534

Natsu Taylor Saito (Contact Author)

Georgia State University College of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 4037
Atlanta, GA 30302-4037
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
57
Abstract Views
605
Rank
589,475
PlumX Metrics