[Peace-discuss] A call to action relating to anti-war, anti-racism and other AWARE issues

[Carl G. Estabrook]

Identity politics arose forty years ago, when American liberals - under assault frorm neoliberalism - began cravenly to assert that discrimination, not exploitation, was the problem. 

As various discriminations were descried, ‘intersectionality’ - connections among them, leading to combined opposition to them - was spuriously suggested as a strategy.

—CGE


> On Oct 16, 2017, at 7:51 AM, C G Estabrook via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:
> 
> Bennis’ would seem to be the latter. 
> 
> What’s an example of the former?
> 
> —CGE
> 
> 
>> On Oct 16, 2017, at 7:26 AM, David Johnson via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net <mailto:peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>> wrote:
>> 
>> Carl,
>>  
>> There are two types of Intersectionality . Type one is class based intersectionality where class is the nucleus or center where all identities intersect. This type is useful and accurate.
>>  
>> Type two is what you are referring to which the liberals use all of the time in which class is not mentioned at all or if it is, it is considered just another identity, resulting in merely a smorgasbord of identity politics.
>>  
>> David J.
>>  
>> From: Peace-discuss [mailto:peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net <mailto:peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net>] On Behalf Of C G Estabrook via Peace-discuss
>> Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2017 6:31 PM
>> To: stuartnlevy
>> Cc: Peace-discuss List
>> Subject: [Peace-discuss] A call to action relating to anti-war, anti-racism and other AWARE issues
>>  
>> Stuart—
>>  
>> You ask, What’s wrong with Phyllis Bennis' article "Time for the Anti-War Movement to Throw Down [sic] for Racial and Economic Justice” <http://inthesetimes.com/features/us_anti-war_movement_trump_syria.html <http://inthesetimes.com/features/us_anti-war_movement_trump_syria.html>>?
>>  
>> Short answer: it’s an exercise in ‘intersectionality’ (“that opiate of the professional managerial class,” as W. B. Michaels put it).
>>  
>> Bennis attempts to incorporate identity politics into the antiwar movement, without admitting that identity politics was constructed to deny and replace class politics, the true basis of US wars  and therefore of opposition to them.
>>  
>> The US is not killing people in MENA for white supremacy, but for the profits of the one percent.
>>  
>> Class is objective (i.e., you belong to it, whether you know it or not), but ‘identity’ is subjective. 
>>  
>> Identity politics attempts to turn class into ‘classism,’ another attitude about identity, parallel to racism, sexism, etc.  
>>  
>> It’s a snare and a delusion. Intersectionality leads to Bennis' curiously anemic conclusion on how to revitalize the anti-war movement: 
>>  
>> "We in the anti-war movement must do better in getting accessible information and analysis—on the human, environmental and economic costs of war and militarism, and the integral links between war and racism—into the hands of today’s resistance.” 
>>  
>> One would think we should be more accurate about the causes of the killing - not the costs (which are fairly obvious) "and the integral links between war and racism” (which is a cover story, not a cause).
>>  
>> Regards, CGE
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