What do they even mean? ... What could it mean to say that race is a "social construct"? Do they mean that there are no biological or ancestral differences at all between Whites and Blacks and Orientals? That's just ridiculous -- like saying there are no biological differences between human beings and gorillas.Related:
I think in most cases they don't mean anything much. They haven't thought about it. It's a smart-sounding phrase they picked up from PBS or from some half-wit university lecturer. It's the kind of thing the bien pensant people say. So they say it too. And they know that, whatever it really means, it must be true and morally right to say it. They know that only Nazis disagree. I've talked to some educated intelligent Leftists who say stuff like this. They usually just retreat to Lewontin's fallacy—more differences within races than between, and all of that. Again, it seems they just don't want to think about it and they use these dumb phrases as a way to avoid thinking. The dumb phrases change once in a while. I guess in earlier decades we'd hear more about how "There is only one race, the human race". But it may be a mistake to expect any clear or coherent meaning behind these propaganda phrases.
Edwards, A.W. 2003: Human genetic diversity: Lewontin's fallacy. Bioessays. 2003 Aug;25(8):798-801.
