Theorizing Saviorism

Part 1 situates brown saviorism and the help economy within the workings of racial capitalism. In chapter 1, Shankar explains how the help economies have become the solution to the problem of surplus labor in racial capitalist systems by functioning as a market for the saving of the dispossessed while also becoming a potential source of employment for some from within these dispossessed classes. In chapter 2, he situates the story of brown saviorism within a history of race, religion, and caste. Shankar argues that the Hindu and, more specifically, the brahmin are racialized to possess cognitive, technical, and spiritual capacities. These racialized capacities allow for the emergence of a class of savarna Hindus who gain global capital and eventually sets the stage for their ascension to the role of savior.