Why is racism so hard to overcome? Why is the world still beset by racial inequality and injustice, even after the supposed successes of the civil rights and anti-apartheid movements? In The World Is a Ghetto Howard Winant reinterprets post-WWII racial dynamics on a global scale by comparing postwar racial politics in four world centers: the U.S., South Africa, Brazil, and the European Union.Winant suggests that as the twenty-first century dawns, movements for racial justice are confronted by new obstacles. His critique of new forms of racial exclusion and inequality (for example, the supposedly "color-blind" racial policies and largely symbolic multiculturalism now in vogue around the world) provides provocative views on such global questions as continuing hostility to immigration, the breakdown of the welfare state, and the weakening of social movements.This is a timely and important book by a major theoretician of race relations. Winant not only deepens our understanding of race as both a contemporary and historical phenomenon but he also explains the continuing significance of racial justice for our ideals of democracy, of human well-being, and for cultural innovation in the years ahead. " The unique fusion of analytical insight, historical interpretation and political passion sets Winant apart from the others." -- --Cornel West, Alphonse Fletcher, Jr. University Professor, Harvard University and author of The African-American Century : How Black Americans Have Shaped Our Country "A groundbreaking book, deeply instructive and thoughtfully provocative." -- -- Publishers Weekly [6/18/01] "a groundbreaking book, deeply instructive and thoughtully provovative." -- -- Publisher's Weekly [6/18/01] Howard Winant is Professor of Sociology at Temple University.