Monsters Among Us: Moral Nihilism, Misanthropy, and the Persistence of Racism

This essay investigates the philosophical and psychological foundations that enable racism—and anti-Blackness in particular—to persist across generations despite legal, social, and educational advancements. Moving beyond conventional explanations rooted in ignorance, economic self-interest, or political manipulation, the author argues that racial hierarchy is sustained by a fundamental crisis of moral imagination, underpinned by two key dispositions: moral nihilism (the denial of inherent human worth) and misanthropy (a systemic distrust of human nature). Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s concept of the "banality of evil" and Albert Bandura’s theory of "moral disengagement," the paper illustrates how ordinary individuals within institutional roles routinely perpetuate harm without experiencing themselves as cruel. It traces the historical adaptability of anti-Black systems—from chattel slavery and Jim Crow to modern algorithmic bias, environmental injustice, and housing discrimination—showing how the underlying commitment to Black exclusion continually reinvents itself. Finally, the essay explores internal responses to nihilistic conditions within Black intellectual and spiritual traditions, highlighting African humanism (Ubuntu), Black liberation theology, and bell hooks' ethic of love as vital frameworks for reclaiming non-contingent human dignity and resisting systemic dehumanization.