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The poverty of mainstream universalism and exclusive identity politics – Open Democracy

Published

3 years ago

 on


Another difficulty concerns the rejection of those experts who do not belong to the group upon which they work. In other words, if a man writes about women, a white author translates something that was written by a Black person, a white university professor lectures on Senegalese history or a rich person plays a poor person in theatre, it should be permissible and legitimate provided that the respective individual has the proper experience, empathy and is qualified to do so. Concurrently, it is imperative that those who are concerned are adequately represented as well which, unfortunately, is frequently not the case.

Last but not least, the class-blindness of identity politics within segments of the new Left leads to an inappropriate analysis of socio-economic structures and power relations. Let me illustrate this through the infamous example of so-called cultural appropriation. A significant number of postcolonial and ‘critical whiteness’ activists and academics get het up when white people wear dreadlocks or ‘ethnic’ clothes, accessories and ornaments.

However, the concept of cultural appropriation somewhat misses the point. The problem isn’t that white people culturally appropriate other people’s things. The crux of the matter is that capitalism is based upon commodification, valorization and commercialization. Thus, anything that can be sold, including “exotic” products and styles are commodified, valorized and commercialized in order to satisfy certain consumer needs and make profits. This alienating and destructive tendency towards commodification and capitalization as well as environmentally disparaging consumerism is accompanied by imperialist and unequal global power relations which implies that the well-to-do – who are predominantly but not exclusively white – have a stronger purchasing power and can therefore afford to buy, commodify, valorize and commercialize ‘exotic’ goods and lifestyles, especially to the detriment of non-white super-exploited laborers and poor POC.

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By and large, freedom of expression, including artistic freedom, should apply to every individual and group (from the radical right to the radical left political spectrum), irrespective of subject matter, race, gender, class, and religious beliefs. The right to blasphemy also needs to be protected. Nobody should be disinvited, banned from media platforms or denied the right to speak in public because of his or her opinions. Exceptions to the rule comprise those who advocate death threats, threats of violence as well as extremely inhumane, violent and systematic forms of racist, classist, antisemitic, Islamophobic, xenophobic, misogynist, homophobic, transphobic, ableistic, agist and lookist defamation, hate speech, and the spreading of lies. As the case may be, the definition of what constitute these severe manifestations and articulations have to be examined on an individual basis and should be liable to legal and scholarly discussion and debate.

Furthermore, the issues of marginalization, structural discrimination against the subaltern and underprivileged strata of society, positionality, the lack of recognition, participation, and representation have to be taken seriously. Indeed, that is one of the main merits and take-aways of the heterogeneous movements that, for the sake of simplicity, have been subsumed under the label of leftist identity politics. On the other hand, followers of liberal and new left identity politics often fall short of inclusivity and do not sufficiently consider the political economy of exploitation, class relations, discrimination and oppression. Their exclusion of white (male) allies within the working-class and intelligentsia on equal terms and vice versa is to the detriment of the processes of emancipation. As Karl Marx already pointed out as early as 1844, in his ‘Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right’, it is imperative “to overthrow all conditions in which humans are humiliated, enslaved, abandoned, miserable beings”. (translation mine)

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Trump faces political risks as trial begins – NBC News

Published

8 hours ago

 on

April 17, 2024

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April 15, 202400:53

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As Donald Trump the candidate overlaps with Donald Trump the defendant, new polling finds that many crucial independent voters consider his trial to be a serious issue. NBC News’ Hallie Jackson reports.April 15, 2024

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Florida's Bob Graham dead at 87: A leader who looked beyond politics, served ordinary folks – Toronto Star

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11 hours ago

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April 17, 2024

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A leader like Bob Graham would be a unicorn in the hyper-partisan politics of today.

The former Florida governor and U.S. senator wasn’t a slick, slogan-spouting politician. He didn’t have an us-against-them mentality. Sometimes, he even came across as more of a kind-hearted professor just trying to make the world a better place.

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The Earthquake Shaking BC Politics

Published

13 hours ago

 on

April 17, 2024

By

Six months from now Kevin Falcon is going to be staggering toward a catastrophic defeat for the remnants of the BC Liberals.

But what that will mean for the province’s political future is still up in the air, with the uncertainty increased by two shocking polls that show the Conservatives far ahead of BC United and only a few percentage points behind the NDP.

BC United is already toast, done in by self-inflicted wounds and the arrival of John Rustad and the Conservative Party of BC.

Falcon’s party has stumbled since the decision to abandon the BC Liberal brand in favour of BC United. The change, promoted by Falcon and approved by party members, took place a year ago this week. It was an immediate disaster.

That was made much worse when Rustad relaunched the B.C. Conservatives after Falcon kicked him out of caucus for doubting the basic science of climate change.

Falcon’s party had fallen from 33 per cent support to 19 per cent, trailing the Conservatives at 25 per cent. (The NDP has 42 per cent support.) That’s despite his repeated assurances that voters would quickly become familiar with the BC United brand.

BC United is left with almost no safe seats in this election based on the current polling.

Take Abbotsford West, where Mike de Jong is quitting after 30 years in the legislature to seek a federal Conservative nomination. It’s been a BC Liberal/United stronghold. In 2020 de Jong captured 46 per cent of the votes to the New Democrats’ 37 per cent and the Conservatives’ nine per cent.

But that was when the Conservatives were at about eight per cent in the polls, not 25 per cent.

Double their vote in this October’s election at the expense of the Liberals — a cautious estimate — and the NDP wins.

United’s prospects are even worse in ridings that were close in the 2020 election, like Skeena. Ellis Ross took it for the BC Liberals in 2020 with 52 per cent of the vote to the NDP’s 45 per cent.

But there was no Conservative candidate. Rustad has committed to running a candidate in every riding and the NDP can count on an easy win in Skeena.

It’s the same story across the province. The Conservatives and BC United will split the centre-right vote, handing the NDP easy wins and a big majority. And BC United will be fighting to avoid being beaten by the Conservatives in the ridings that are in play.

United’s situation became even more dire last week. A Liaison Strategies poll found the NDP at 38 per cent support, Conservatives at 34 per cent, United at 16 per cent and Greens at 11 per cent. That’s similar to a March poll from Mainstreet Research.

If those polls are accurate, BC United could end up with no seats. Voters who don’t want an NDP government will consider strategic voting based on which party has a chance of winning in their ridings.
Based on the Liaison poll, that would be the Conservatives. That’s especially true outside Vancouver and Vancouver Island, where the poll shows the Conservatives at 39 per cent, the NDP at 30 per cent and United lagging at 19 per cent. (The caveat about the polls’ accuracy is important. Curtis Fric and Philippe J. Fournier offer a useful analysis of possible factors affecting the results on Substack.)

And contributors will also be making some hard choices about which party gets their money. Until now BC United was far ahead of the Conservatives, thanks to its strong fundraising structure and the perception that it was the front-runner on the right. That’s under threat.

The polls also mark a big change in the NDP’s situation. This election looked like a cakewalk, with a divided centre-right splitting the vote and a big majority almost guaranteed. Most polls this year gave the New Democrats at least a 17 per cent lead over the Conservatives.

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