Podcaster Jemele Hill is doubling down on her asinine argument that capitalism is rooted in white supremacy even after getting trounced on the topic during a recent appearance on CNN.
Hill’s comments were roundly ridiculed on social media, with many praising podcaster Kmele Foster for destroying her arguments during the CNN segment.
In a Wednesday post on X, Hill wrote, “America was built on the institution of slavery. It is how America became a world economic power — the buying and selling of people being tied to the economy. That is effectively white supremacy, since it was a race-based system.”
Fast forward to other economic policies that were guided by race — housing, employment, etc. There were rules that prevented Black people from equally participating in the free economy.
In fact, one of the most glaring features of American capitalism is racial inequality. The racial wealth gap exists because specific policies were put in place to suppress economic participation.
So yes, capitalism is tied to white supremacy.
America was built on the institution of slavery. It is how America became a world economic power — the buying and selling of people being tied to the economy. That is effectively white supremacy, since it was a race-based system.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 2, 2026
Fast forward to other economic policies that were… https://t.co/R45k4V2r8z
During the segment, Foster pointed out that capitalism is “the idea that people can own property, that they can exchange it freely with one another for profit, that they can find ways to put their resources to good use.”
These are foundational ideas that have created more wealth than any other system in human history. That is what capitalism is. That is not white supremacy. Capitalism has always worked that way … I've actually just described the basic facts of economics.
On CNN NewsNight, The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill argues that capitalism is oppressive and bound up in white supremacy.
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 2, 2026
Kmele Foster: “It's one thing to not think capitalism isn't working ideally. It's another thing entirely to insist that it is oppressive, that it is bound up with… pic.twitter.com/PLWRCuxt7v
Hill was unable to counter Foster’s arguments, which is probably why she took to X to reiterate her case. But even in her post, she reveals how little she understands the issue. She’s right about chattel slavery and how people bought and sold other people. But as Foster pointed out in the segment, slavery existed long before capitalism did.
There is nothing inherent about capitalism that promotes the subjugation of certain groups of people.
But most glaring is her comment about how economic policy kept black Americans out of housing, employment, and other areas of society. But she never stops to think about who was responsible for this. Did corporations pass laws to oppress black people? Did they mandate segregation?
Of course not. But that brings us to something Hill doesn’t want to admit: The government has done far more to advance white supremacy than capitalism. In fact, the government forcing corporations to go along with this agenda is the very antithesis of free market capitalism. A market can’t be free if the state is constantly controlling it and forcing it to adhere to politicians’ personal values.
If Hill wants to address racial inequality, she’d be more honest to focus on the institution that has done the most to promote it. In fact, she only seemed to worry about white supremacy in government when President Donald Trump was in office.
Somehow, under Democrat administrations, the state magically turns into the opposite of white supremacy in her mind. But this is typical for progressives. They will call the government a white supremacist institution while doing their very best to expand the size and scope of a state that they claim hates black people.
It’s almost like these people don’t really mean what they say, isn’t it?