In previous chapters, various characteristics of ideology have been discussed. In this chapter, an attempt is made to describe one of the most noticeable features of British ideology dealing with matters recognised as ‘racial’ by the social observer – namely, the reluctance to acknowledge the existence of a racial dimension to social relations.

People make sense of their social environment by describing (explaining) and evaluating it, and deciding on how they, and others, should behave within it. Certain features may be selected for good reason or, from the point of view of the social observer, almost randomly as having significance for understanding social processes. Among many others, family or tribal groupings, nationality, social class, and race, at different points in history, have all been used as central, ordering, and causally efficacious principles.

‘Race’ is a complex concept that has accreted meaning within the different explanatory and justificatory frameworks of which it has historically been a part. The term has been applied to different social groups discernible for a wide range of reasons: skin pigmentation, physique, descent, religion, cultural practices, etc. Once identified as a ‘racial’ group, established networks of association provide guidelines on how that group is to be described, assessed, and reacted to. A racial ideology is one in which racial description (explanation), evaluation and prescription are given pride of place. The actual differences between groups of people acquire significance insofar as they are used as anchorage for larger and larger conceptual models of human existence.