In The Last White Man, Oona's mother believes people are spontaneously changing skin color because they are victims of a conspiracy to eradicate white people. While Hamid gives no name to what Oona's mother believes in, the paranoid idea echoes a real-life conspiracy theory known as the Great Replacement Theory.
Also known as the Great Replacement Myth, the Replacement Conspiracy, or the White Genocide Theory, the Great Replacement Theory is a discredited far-right conspiracy theory that claims there is a deliberate plot to replace white populations in Western countries with non-white immigrants, particularly from Muslim-majority regions. The theory suggests that this replacement is orchestrated by "global elites," liberal governments, and left-wing institutions as part of a larger agenda to destroy traditional Western culture, values, and demographics.
While paranoia around "white extinction" has been a component of racial discrimination for centuries, the French writer and critic Renaud Camus has been credited with popularizing the theory for contemporary audiences with an essay titled "Le Grand Remplacement." In it, Camus argues that the white European population is being systematically replaced by non-European immigrants, primarily from Africa and the Middle East. Camus' theory gained traction within far-right and white nationalist circles, who embraced and amplified his ideas. The theory quickly spread online through social media platforms, discussion forums, and far-right websites, reaching a broader audience.
The Great Replacement Theory is highly controversial and widely discredited by experts, scholars, and mainstream media. Among the main criticisms of the theory is its reliance on anecdotal evidence, cherry-picked data, and misleading statistics that ignore empirical data about the real factors that contribute to immigration. The theory has been condemned for fueling xenophobic and racist sentiments by scapegoating specific groups, particularly immigrants and Muslims, for social problems.
Embraced by white nationalist extremist groups and far-right political movements, the Great Replacement Theory's propagation has contributed to acts of white supremacist violence, such as the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand in 2019, where the shooter, Brenton Tarrant, referenced the theory in his manifesto. The myth has also been referenced by the perpetrators of the racist mass shootings in Pittsburgh in 2018, El Paso in 2019, and Buffalo in 2022. In response to the Buffalo shootings, House Democrats passed a gun control measure that included an official condemnation of the Great Replacement Theory.
