Who counts in official statistics? Ethical‐epistemic issues in German migration and the collection of racial or ethnic data

  • In European countries (excluding the UK and Ireland), official statistics do not use racial or ethnic categories, but instead rely on proxies to collect data about discrimination. In the German microcensus, the proxy category adopted is ‘migration background’ (Migrationshintergrund): an individual has a ‘migration background’ when one or more of their parents does not have German citizenship by birth. We apply a coupled ethical-epistemic analysis to the ‘migration background’ category to illuminate how the epistemic issues contribute to ethical ones. Our central claim is that these ethical-epistemic issues with the ‘migration background’ category are best analysed in terms of Charles Mills's ‘white ignorance’. Appealing to Annette Martín's structural account of white ignorance, we highlight the cyclical reinforcement of ignorance and racial injustice in the use of the ‘migration background’ variable. Colourblind eliminativism about race perpetuates the use of ‘migration background’,In European countries (excluding the UK and Ireland), official statistics do not use racial or ethnic categories, but instead rely on proxies to collect data about discrimination. In the German microcensus, the proxy category adopted is ‘migration background’ (Migrationshintergrund): an individual has a ‘migration background’ when one or more of their parents does not have German citizenship by birth. We apply a coupled ethical-epistemic analysis to the ‘migration background’ category to illuminate how the epistemic issues contribute to ethical ones. Our central claim is that these ethical-epistemic issues with the ‘migration background’ category are best analysed in terms of Charles Mills's ‘white ignorance’. Appealing to Annette Martín's structural account of white ignorance, we highlight the cyclical reinforcement of ignorance and racial injustice in the use of the ‘migration background’ variable. Colourblind eliminativism about race perpetuates the use of ‘migration background’, which sustains and intensifies racial injustices.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author:Daniel James, Morgan Thompson, Tereza HendlGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:384-opus4-1180002
Frontdoor URLhttps://opus.bibliothek.uni-augsburg.de/opus4/118000
ISSN:0264-3758OPAC
ISSN:1468-5930OPAC
Parent Title (English):Journal of Applied Philosophy
Publisher:Wiley
Place of publication:Weinheim
Type:Article
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2025
Publishing Institution:Universität Augsburg
Release Date:2025/01/13
Volume:42
Issue:1
First Page:155
Last Page:174
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/japp.12737
Institutes:Medizinische Fakultät
Medizinische Fakultät / Professur für Ethik der Medizin
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Licence (German):CC-BY 4.0: Creative Commons: Namensnennung (mit Print on Demand)