Katherine Moos: there is no inherent contradiction between Marxist political economy and intersectional analysis. Policy should be comprehensive but not color-blind
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Yes, there is a contradiction. The trouble is the revisionist take on "Intersectionality" which has turned it into a focus on identities. Kimberlé Crenshaw addressed this at the Women Of the World conference in 2016, pointing out that when she coined the term, she intended for it to have a focus on structures which have facilitated oppression, not identities. Somewhere along the way, that got distorted into this revisionist obsession with identity politics. And there's the contradiction. Leftism (not Marxism alone, but all forms of Socialism) require Solidarity, but identity politics is divisive. And economic class is not an "identity."
The Occupy Movement was initially strong through Solidarity, "We are the 99%," and so on. Then those obsessed with identity politics showed up and divided the movement into smaller groups, which became rivals squabbling over mere scraps from the table of the 1%, and thus Occupy became impotent. "Divide ut regnes," of course.
This obession with identities does nothing but allow whichever identity happens to be the "oppressed minority" of the current fad to get some token (and temporary) gestures, but only until the next fad switches to another identity, and so on, and so on. The only way the needs and concerns of the various identities will ever be dealt with in a substantial and permanent way will be when once the structures which have facilitated oppression are reformed or dismantled, and that means CLASS STRUGGLE in Solidarity, not superficialities like pigmentation, ethnicity, chromosomal sex, and the like, divided up into rival groups (even with the pseudo-intersectionality claptrap about intersections of identities, which, again, is NOT what Ms Crenshaw's iteration is about, but these Poststructuralism/Postmodernism-inspired kids with their hyper-relativism and their "death of the author" mentality don't actually care what she meant, same as they don't care what "Social Justice" actually means, as long as they can exploit the language to spread their outrage and promote their victim mentality).
That's why pseudo-intersectionality does nothing but establish obstacles to the actualization of Leftist goals. Its proponents have lost the plot and turned from the substantial to the superficial. Symbolic victories are easy, but the class struggle requires more investment of time, energy, effort, and money, and they'd rather engage in internet activism by signing petitions which accomplish little or nothing, and get on Twitter or Facebook and harass people who were involved in actual struggles for civil rights, such as the veterans of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and the Feminists of the 1960s and 1970s, and work to UNDO things which those people fought hard to get. That's why they get called "Regressives." They're not promoting progress, but rather, trying their best to undo progress which has been made.
Of course we can participate in these secondary struggles, but we have to keep our focus on the economic class struggle, or else the secondary struggles, as I said above, will never be satisfactorily resolved. Ms Moos touches on this, but fails to grasp the significance, when she speaks of how blacks have not had the same access to public resources. That is an economic issue, not a racial issue. Racism, transphobia, homophobia, sexism, are all of course involved in the structures (not "institutions" as she calls them), but the primary tools used to effect bigoted treatment through these structures are economic; it is a withholding of financing such public resources to areas where certain people live. Take that threat away, deprive the bigots of those tools, dismantle or reform the structures which make it possible, and the prejudiced will no longer have the capacity to perpetuate such oppression. Don't be distracted by the superficial; stay focused on the substantial.
im only interested in working class people not ivy league triggered people.
What the hell happened to The Real News- did Soros bankroll the operation? I remember when Paul Jay used to report on the Ron Paul campaign, favorably. This is Marxist nonsense. What is the ultimate end of “intersectionality”? It’s The individual, separate from any racial or class identity. You are a minority of one. As am I. You are not a victim, your life is generally what you make of it. If you accept these socialist narratives, then you disempower yourself, and empower the state as the advocate for the “oppressed”. But there’s limited political power to be grabbed by catering to millions of empowered individuals. Don’t tell me about conservative technocrats. To the extent that they’re relevant, they’re to be defeated and cast out of government. But the technocratic future that is well under way is a leftist construct, there’s no doubt about it.
There is nothing good about internationalist. It is a leftist racist ideology. If you are going to have someone like this on at least give some context of the horrible problems it creates IRL.
Intersectionality is a capitalist plot to permanently divide the left. Its largely been succesful in that regard.
Doesn't even bother to include class in her colourful little chart, then claims she's doing a Marxist critique lol. Identity politics: The place desperately needed social movements go to die. Boutique activism for "woke" liberals.
The only Marxists left are on the faculties of US colleges and universities. Anybody else with any common sense or reason long since tossed Marxism where it belongs – the dustbin of history.
“Feminist thought” is an oxymoron.
Thanks for this. USA Corporate Media fails us.
Sorry there is no shared fate.
Don't get down on intersectionality just add whatever group you want to work with. It is joining together with other causes to increase your foot print. How is this a problem?
I organized a sit-out for this event and over 6 billion people attended by sitting out, not giving a shit, and not thinking about this drivel.
Social science is an oxymoron.
As long as there are more men than women in the army and in prisons, it's men who are oppressed.
This is too theoretical for me. I couldn't understand it.
Intersectionality is white guilt incarnate.
Hmm.. as someone coming from a more Marxist perspective, I thought this was good. Well articulated. But I do have the feeling these arguments, at least in their formal description, underestimate the whole concept. Fundamentally, intersectionality is everywhere and is important to everything. Nothing exists in a vacuum (except dust mites).
This is a white liberal fantasy.
Intersectionality inherently baits reactionary response. Marx and early socialists argued strongly against this type of childish discourse, but the analysis should still take place. Solidarity takes place over intersectionality.
Black people all over the world your name is not define by your colour. Your name is define by the nation God has made you.God Almighty have made you and the land where you come from. For the Hebrew ISRAELITES All over the world we shall no longer be called blacks but shall be called by our national name which is HEBREW ISRALITES. This is what GOD ALMIGHTY has revealed to you and this is whom you are. The world will have to accept you by your real name which is HEBREW ISRAELITES. Not by black any more.
I got as far as the colour wheel.
WHAT DRIVEL
Tldw Everyone against whitey.