Identity Politics

A Marxist View

Bibliographic Data

ID23212772
AuthorsRaju Das (0000-0002-0603-6237, York University), Raju J Das (0000-0001-6458-6600, York University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume8
Issue1
Publication date2020-04-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueClass, Race and Corporate Power (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2330-6297 • E-ISSN: 2330-6297
PublisherFlorida International University (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.25148/crcp.8.1.008921
OpenAlexW3021356718
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited11

This article has three main sections. In section 1, I discuss what identity politics is and what are its theoretical presuppositions. I also talk about the nature of the political action in identity politics, and about its limits. In section 2, I present my views on Marxist politics, which is centered on the theory and the politics of class, combined with the class-theory and class-politics of anti-oppression. I unpack what I consider are the Marxist notions of ‘the common ground’ and of ‘the majority’, as important components of Marxist politics. The majority, in the Marxist sense, are those who are objectively subjected to class-exploitation. And in terms of the common ground for politics, there are two aspects: a) the majority of people experience one common fate, i.e. they are exploited, and b) this exploited majority are subjected to one or more of the many mechanisms of oppression (race, gender, caste, etc.), all of which represent one experience: attack on democratic rights (or the experience of ‘tyranny’, in Lenin’s sense). In the final section, I conclude the article and draw some implications of my arguments.

Aesthetics · Class analysis · Democracy · Epistemology · Identity (music) · Identity politics · Marxist philosophy · Oppression · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Political Economy and Marxism · Political theory and Gramsci

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Open DOIOpen Access