"4The book, for all its complex detail, is very readable ... [It] is an intense and compact resource for understanding how the political economy of racism evolved in the United States.' Science & Society. 'Written in a style accessible to both students and a wider non-specialist audience - could usefully be read by anyone interested in the origins and impact of racism in the United States.' Patterns of Prejudice. Unlike conventional theories advanced by conservative and liberal thinkers, The Political Economy of Racism shows how the persistence of racism can be explained in terms of the changing economic and political needs of different groups of capitalists. Leiman demonstrates clearly how the relative decline in the American economy is clearly linked to the persistence of racism. He argues that capitalists are not a class with a monolithic and unchanging interest in a particular form of racial discrimination and that the character of racism changes with the economic and political needs of different groups of capitalists. The Political Economy of Racism is a controversial book that challenges existing theories of racial discrimination and provides a radical alternative theory."--Publisher's description.