The Enlightenment indeed played a significant role in shaping modern notions of race and racism. While it championed ideas of human freedom and individual rights, it paradoxically coexisted with colonial domination and the spread of “liberty.”
Enlightenment thinkers contributed to an enduring racial taxonomy, creating the color-coded ideology we recognize today. European powers used these racial notions to justify brutality and domination as they expanded across the globe. So, yes, the Enlightenment is intrinsically linked to the development of racism
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