Theoretical Perspective of Race Discrimination Name of the Student Name

Running head: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Theoretical perspective of racial discrimination
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Author Note

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
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Introduction
The human civilization as a whole is divided in to many different societies. This division
mainly occurs due to the presence of certain characteristic features which distinguishes one
community of people from that of another. For instance, due to geographical boundaries, the
societies of the world remain divided (Willmott, 2016). Each geographical place have their own
societies which have their own traditional values and customs. The individuals belonging to that
society have the main objective of pursing those activities which leads to the continuance of the
values of their own community (McKenzie & Gabriel, 2017). However, in this regard, it needs to
be noted that there exists certain practices and cultures in a society which might adversely affect
the growth of the human civilization. Such instances are broadly known as discrimination. One
of the most concerning discriminations which exists in the context of the entire human
civilization is that of racial discrimination. This arises from the view point of the people that the
‘white’ colored individuals are more superior to the ‘black’ skinned people. There are no
practical reasons for the presence of such a discrimination and it is more of a social outlook.
This, in turn, has affected the growth and progress of a particular race or community of people
that is the ‘black’ skinned people (Dost-Gozkan, 2017). In other words, people all over the
world, who are ‘black’ skin toned, face a variety of disadvantages because of the presence of
such sociological outlook. Furthermore, the preponderance of such cultural values even in the
modern society which harps on equal rights and right to equality has raised a concern for the
survival of the human society (Platow et al., 2017). The purpose of this paper is to understand the
meaning of racial discrimination. To this extent, it has sought to analyze two important theories
such as that of the Realist Conflict Theory and the Social Identity Theory. The assumptions of
the two theories and their relation to the idea of racial discrimination have been outlined in the

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paper. To substantiate the theories and their validity, other theories have also been looked in to
such as that of the Social Dominance theory, Scapegoat theory and the Contact hypothesis. The
paper concludes by understanding the issue of theoretical perspective of racial discrimination.
Idea of racial discrimination
The aspect of racial discrimination refers to the presence of that inequality which exists
as a result of the skin tone of the individuals or their ethnic or racial origin (Lundy & Darkwah,
2018). In other words, the individuals are differentiated based on the community they are born
in. The individuals are discriminated in the sense that they are not given a respectable position in
the society, the people of the other communities refuse to conduct any kind of business with
them, leading to their financial degeneration and that they are not given a proper share in the use
of natural resources of the world. All of these forms of discrimination contributes to the
degradation of the status of the individuals in the society in the sense that they do not get an
equal access to all those materials of life which would help them to increase their standard of
living (Hogg, 2016). The social forms of discrimination, further, affects their mental set up
whereby they are made to realize that they are the ‘inferior’ group of people of the community
and hence, do not deserve the respect of being treated in an equal manner.
Racial discrimination can also occur by the acts of the government. The government of a
nation state of the world may indulge in discrimination by forming an explicit law or regulation
which contributes to the issue of racial segregation (Böhm, Rusch & Baron, 2018). This occurs
in the way of disproportionate allocation of the natural resources of the country or in the
disparate form of enforcement of the rules formed by its legislatures. Attempts are made by the
other institutions of the government to overcome or compensate for the existence of such forms
of racial discrimination. For instance, affirmative actions are meant to provide certain advantages

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to the disadvantaged groups in a community by giving them partial preference in matters of
government education or employment.
In this respect, it can be seen that the issue of racial discrimination is quite concerning
and adversely affects the living standard of the individuals who are discriminated against
(McCarthy & Rhodes, 2018). Their self-confidence is eroded and this leads to the generation of
an inferiority complex amongst the population.
Comparison of Realistic Conflict Theory and Social Identity Theory
The similarity in between Realistic Conflict Theory and the Social Identity theory rests in
the fact that both delve into the inner workings of the group dynamics that can prove to be
crucial in the event of carrying out teamwork. Both the theories lay stress on the fact that the
people feel motivated of deriving the clear image about their social identities with the help of
comparison with that of the other social categories. There exist differences in between the
realistic conflict theory and the social identity theory. The social identity theory provides the
cognitive description regarding how the intergroup conflict can arise whereas the realistic
conflict theory helps in addressing effects of the conflict. Social identity theory espouses that the
conflicts are not realist but on the basis of the irrational needs of the identity. The realistic
identity theory on the other hand brings out the fact that the intergroup hostility arises owing to
the conflicting goals and the competition in between the people.
Realistic Conflict Theory
The realistic conflict theory is a mode of social psychological behavior which attempts to
define the conflict existing within a group (Platow et al., 2017). The main purpose of the theory
is to understand the emergence of intergroup hostility as a consequence of conflicting goals and