The Racial Contract

The colonial contract refers to one of the subsidiary contracts of the Racial Contract that establishes and consolidates global white supremacy. In Thesis 2, Mills identifies it as the contract that “legitimated European rule over the nations in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific” (25), and he provides examples of its manifestations.

Contractarianism refers to the Hobbesian line of social contract theory that is concerned with the legitimacy of political and moral authority. In mainstream discourse, contractarianism takes the “individual” as the most fundamental unit of society and party to the social contract, and this “individual” is characterized by self-interest and rationality that prompts their entrance into the social contract. Furthermore, all “individuals” are considered inherently equal and free in the state of nature, which carries over to civil society when they enter into the social contract. As Mills examines the theory of Hobbes, contractarianism is a key concept in the text. However, Mills articulation of the Racial Contract illustrates that the “individual” status and its concomitant characteristics are limited to white men.

De facto is a term denoting factual norms and practices that are not necessarily ordained by law. It is often used in contrast to de jure, which means by law. In Thesis 6, Mills uses the term to describe the period of racism in which racism was no longer sanctioned formally but law, but in which racist norms and practices remained in effect in convert ways, signifying the maintenance and rewriting of the terms of the Racial Contract.

De jure is a term denoting norms and practices that recognized by law. In Thesis 6, Mills uses the term to describe the period of explicit state-sanctioned racism that formalized the Racial Contract and white supremacy.

The expropriation contract refers to one of the subsidiary contracts of the Racial Contract. In Thesis 2, Mills discusses the expropriation contract, which is characterized by the theft of Indigenous lands for European settlement and industrial development.

Herrenvolk is a German term that refers to the ideology that establishes a master race and justifies political, social, and economic dominance of one group over another or others based on claims of superiority. In terms of the Racial Contract, the master race is European/white. Mills uses the term in Thesis 8 to describe the dysfunctional ethics of the Racial Contract and the various versions of Herrenvolk ethics found in mainstream contract theory.

The Racial Contract refers to a series of agreement between white people to politically, economically, and socially subordinate people who considered “nonwhite” on a global scale. It establishes a non-neutral racial polity where only white people are granted full membership and equality. In Thesis 1, Mills provides a definition. The Racial Contract is characterized by the distinction between white people as persons, while all other people who are not white are classified as subpersons. The distinction serves the differential application of civil, moral, and cognitive status and norms. Throughout the text, Mills clarifies the terms and functions of the Racial Contract.

The slave contract refers to one of the subsidiary contracts of the Racial Contract. In Thesis 2, Mills defines the slave contract as the agreement that “gave Europeans the right to enslave Native Americans and Africans […] based on doctrines of the inherent inferiority of these peoples” (24).