Dehuman, What's in a Word?

Keeping it short, so comment!


In the Boston Review's "Forum 1: Race, Capitalism, Justice," Walter Johnson, author of River of Dark Dreams: Slavery and Empire in the Cotton Kingdom, begins the literary forum with a fascinating argument against the language of "dehumanization" in regards to slavery.  He argues that by writing these past behaviors as dehumanizing and inhumane, we may be blinding ourselves to the forms of exploitation and oppression which are definitive of humans throughout history.  The language of dehumanization separates ourselves from the systems of the past, potentially whitewashing the present as the result of an upward trajectory of moral progress.

Johnson in no ways intends to downplay the cruelties of the institution of slavery, but he intends to make us think critically about the present.  In what ways are exploitative and oppressive systems and practices institutionalized today?  Do we consider these practices inhumane?

Moreover, Johnson argues that "dehumanize" language implies that the humanity of African slaves could be taken away, or lessened.  This opens up a new set of problems about how we are to judge whether or not humanity is lost (if it even can be) and how does one regain it?

Let me know your thoughts on the language of "dehumanization." What is its usefulness?  What are the negative effects?