"Look at any example of racism in history and it tends to have an economic basis."

I think its the other way around.

Racists blame minorities for their own misfortune - for example when the economy is performing poorly.

But an educated person knows that eliminating a group of people will not fix a broken economy.

Because they know that economics is a much more complex science than that and that race issues are by and large irrelevant to an economy's succes or failure.

I return to ignorance being the root and education being the solution.