Racial capitalism and mechanisms of accumulation - Belew's Analysis

The text analyzes the concept of racial capitalism, examining the link between capital accumulation and the exploitation of marginalized groups. The author distinguishes four theses regarding the role of slavery in industrialization: from documented economic impact to the controversial ontological thesis that capitalism inherently produces racial hierarchies. A key point is the thought of Cedric J. Robinson, who criticizes Marxist economism. According to him, capitalism does not reduce workers to an abstract category, but rather integrates and utilizes existing ethnic and colonial divisions. This system did not so much create racism as it transformed previous hierarchies into functional economic tools, reproducing inequalities within labor relations and value distribution.