Identity politics

Charles Brown charlesb at CNCL.ci.detroit.mi.us
Wed May 27 12:25:41 PDT 1998


I agree with the Jims' analyses below. That one reason that racism among white workers is so difficult to get rid of: there is a big hook of shortsighted self-interest in them on it.

Charles Brown


>>> James Devine <jdevine at popmail.lmu.edu> 05/27 1:43 PM >>>
At 05:24 PM 5/27/98 +0100, James h. wrote:
>In message <Pine.SUN.3.95.980527093901.27985A-100000 at levy.org>, Mathew
>Forstater <forstate at levy.org> writes
>
>>There are a number of Marxist and Marx inspired labor economists
>>(e.g., Darity, Williams, Mason, Botwinick, Cotton, Shulman) who argue that
>>white male workers do have an objective material self-interest in racism
>>and patriarchy.
>>
>Mathew puts the case well. He could add that the 'white skin advantage'
>version of the argument is the basis of Thoedore Allen and David
>Roediger's fascinating (though flawed in my view) books on the Wages of
>Whiteness and the Invention of the White Race...

I generally agree with the points that James makes on this issue (which I elided). I want to add that I like (my interpretation) of Michael Reich's thesis in RACIAL INEQUALITY: though white workers gain in the short-term from racism (closed shops, etc.), they lose in the long run (since closed shops undermine the broad movements necessary for not only revolution but progressive reforms, even on the micro level). Reich shows that interracial wage inequality is closely related to intra-racial inequality between wages and property income.

the last message for the day...

Jim Devine jdevine at popmail.lmu.edu & http://clawww.lmu.edu/Departments/ECON/jdevine.html Los Angeles, the city of your future: the city of smog, traffic jams at 2 a.m., unfinished subway systems, earthquakes, modern slavery, fires, mudslides & sinkholes, civil disturbances (a.k.a. riots or rebellions), OJ, the Menendi, and Heidi Fleiss (daughter of our nephew's pediatrician).



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