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This is an intriguing and highly recommended read which supports my ongoing warnings about the fragmentation of the political left.

The Most Revolutionary Act

The identity politics phenomenon sweeping across the Western world is a divide and conquer strategy that prevents the emergence of a genuine resistance to the elites.

A core principle of socialism is the idea of an overarching supra-national solidarity that unites the international working class and overrides any factor that might divide it, such as nation, race, or gender. Workers of all nations are partners, having equal worth and responsibility in a struggle against those who profit from their brain and muscle.

Capitalism, especially in its most evolved, exploitative and heartless form – imperialism – has wronged certain groups of people more than others. Colonial empires tended to reserve their greatest brutality for subjugated peoples whilst the working class of these imperialist nations fared better in comparison, being closer to the crumbs that fell from the table of empire. The international class struggle aims to liberate all people everywhere from…

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12 thoughts on “How Identity Politics Makes the Left Lose Its Collective Identity”

  1. Great read, Bob. Thanks for sharing.

    I have read elsewhere that the liberation of the waged labourer, indeed, all workers lies in their coming together across borders. Whether this will happen in our life times is hard to tell

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    • I don’t see a worldwide worker alliance happening any time soon. But, it could happen regionally on a smaller scale. Such movements were quite common from the late 19th to the mid 20th centuries.

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  2. Pingback: How Identity Politics Makes the Left Lose Its Collective Identity — The Secular Jurist | sdbast

  4. Interesting theory, but I’m not sure the author thought it through carefully enough. And I don’t think they completely understand the concept of white male privilege.
    A black man in France is 8 times more likely to be stopped and searched in the street than a white man. I believe the statistic for the UK is along the same lines. I’ve come to understand they live with the expectation of being oppressed in that manner all the time because it may happen on any given outing in a major city. Meanwhile I find the very thought of being stopped and searched by the police insulting. I’d probably insist on getting the officer’s name and I’d file a complaint…

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    • I completely agree about the severity of racial injustice, etc. Such concerns MUST be addressed.

      Since I cannot speak for the author, I’ll offer my own perspective. As much as we all hate it, politics is still a practical imperative. It is how power is applied in our societies. The political right today is unified around a core set of values, and that is why it is in ascendancy. Its various factions recognize that to pursue their individual agendas they must first cooperate with each other to gain political power.

      Conversely, the political left has abandoned its former unifying set of values, and that is why it is now disorganized, fragmented, and losing political power. Each of its factions are pursuing their own agenda piecemeal, and this is alienating other factions. For example, some feminists today are using divisive rhetoric which is triggering a backlash from progressive men who were once allied with them. Likewise, antipathy towards critically important social institutions (e.g. government and labor unions) is rampant among young liberals, and this is causing a profound schism with older liberals.

      Martin Luther King, Jr. recognized how imperative political solidarity is for advancing the cause of racial justice. That’s why he launched his Poor People’s Campaign in 1968 (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_People%27s_Campaign).

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  5. I identify myself as someone who hates using identity to fragment societies. I insist I’m right about this. Thus, I’m a “My Identity Is Always Right” person. Don’t agree? Then, you’re wrong. This is exactly how I’ve won so many Nobel Prizes over the years. I’m always right because I’m me; thus, I deserve Nobel Prizes. Bottom line though is identity politics are awful unless they’re mine. And, since I’m always right about everything, everyone else is almost always wrong about everything. Damn, my sense of identity tells me that was brilliant and I deserve another Nobel! Awesome! I’m SO proud of my identity! HURRAY!!!!

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  6. English, Irish, Scots, Scots-Irish, Welsh, German, Dutch, American. That as far as I can tell is my ethnic group. That is where I stand in identity politics. But that left our gender. I have seventy gender groups to choose from. Then there is the choice beaten Southern or Appalachian. Hillbilly, Redneck or Cracker. Since Appalachia is in there that includes deplorable according to Hillary. But I did not vote for Trump. I will have to think more about it. I think I will just stick with other.
    Settled. Other it is.

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