In contrast to most studies of minority, majority relations, the author does not focus on minority groups but on the conventional wisdom of the politically dominant majority population. The essays cover a range of themes, from individualized identification and the struggle to achieve a "sustainable self-image" to national belonging and "race thinking". She argues that social actors construct racial and national boundaries by drawing on everyday-life experiences. This is how racial prejudice can become "plausible prejudice?." With bibliography.