BK on "identity"

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Tue Feb 27 14:37:28 PST 2001


On Patrick Bond's urging, I picked up a copy of Boris Kagarlitsky's trilogy, published by Pluto. In The Return of Radicalism, we learn (just after an approving quote from Todd Gitlin): "All identity is social, but class is the quintessence of the social. Unlike race, sex, culture, or place of birth, class cannot be determined except by the positions of the individual in society, and cannot be reproduced except through participation in the functioning of the economic system" (p. 95).

Really? I don't see how anyone in the U.S. or South Africa could claim that race is irrelevant to one's participation in the economic system, or how anyone on the planet could claim that sex/gender wasn't deeply tied to participation in the economic system. Basically this sounds like the same old class v. identity crap that I thought was on its deathbed.

So Patrick, what's so exciting about this trilogy? Where should I turn for inspiration other than p. 95?

Doug



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