Without specificity in definition and equal application to either party’s politicking based on identities, “identity politics” becomes yet another dog-whistle used against those who simply dare to not be white or male.
A biography of protean intellectual Edward Said situates the advocate for Palestinian statehood as a deep political thinker and skeptic of identity politics would both excoriate the crimes of Israel and the US and denounce Arab despotism.
The argument that's usually framed as "identity politics" versus "class politics" is one of the animating features of today's insurgent left. Both this book and reviewer Gandesha seek to unpack this argument's complexities.
Reader Comments: Italy Unions Refuse to Load Saudi Ship; Eyewitness Report: Venezuela Up Close; The Strange Workings of Identity and Adolph Reed Jr.; Boeing Allowed to Decide What Planes Are Safe?; Socialism; Announcements - Chicago, New York, DC
I personally find characterizations of Reed as a class-reductionist to be quite confusing. Far from trying to bolster an economistic, class-reduction understanding of the world, Reed has gone out of his way to do the opposite.
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