Andre Iguodala: ‘Capitalism and racism go hand in hand. And you can’t have one without the other’

Heat forward Andre Iguodala knows how NBA business works.

As for economics on a larger scale…

CNN:

President Trump called the NBA a “political organization” when asked about protests against racial injustice.

"It's not a political organization or a political agenda ... it's a human agenda." - NBA player Andre Iguodala tells CNN's @DonLemon. https://t.co/hZ5zNcZBNQ pic.twitter.com/X7ScMQANLS

— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) August 28, 2020

Iguodala:

Capitalism and racism go hand in hand. And you can’t have one without the other.

Iguodala is wrong.

Generally, capitalism is an economic system that allows private individuals and corporations to determine and act in their own best interests.

Does capitalism allow for racism? Yes. Under capitalism, racists can choose not to do business with certain ethnicities. But racists are also punished for that choice. There is more money to be made when selling goods and services to everyone and hiring the best people for jobs.

Countries that don’t practice capitalism also have racism and other similar discrimination. For example, communist China detains Uighurs – an ethnic minority – in camps. In communist and even socialist countries, prevailing racism can be fortified by the full force of the law.

Some of the United States’ worst examples of racism came when straying from capitalism.

Slavery – codified by the constitution on down – didn’t allow slaves to determine and act in their own best interests. Even after slavery, government-mandated segregation banned people from having the cross-racial relations, professional and personal, they otherwise would’ve desired.

A more modern example: Drug laws. The government prohibits people from buying and selling marijuana as they wish. Effectively, that has turned into a way to incarcerate Black people.

The United States should address its racism. But ending capitalism is not a magical solution to racism.

Iguodala also said:

The tricky part is, when we speak up on other communities who do have the correct group economics, then we’re looked at as being racist towards communities when we’re actually – we call it, ‘giving them props’ for having these systems in place, where they’re taking care of their people. They’re opening up businesses, getting loans, all those things occurring. But the negative connotations that come from behind that, it’s set up for us not to have those aspirations so we can continue to be held down.

It sounds like Iguodala is talking about things like this and this. I hope he’s not. He spoke vaguely. But I’d like to hear him explain.