Tokenism, Identity Politics and Selective Equality in neo-Liberal societies
By YorkshireAgainstFascism
In 2009, Barack Obama's historic inauguration as the first African American President of the United States resonated worldwide, symbolizing a landmark moment in the fight for equality and representation. Fast forward to October 25, 2022, when Rishi Sunak assumed office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding Liz Truss. Sunak's inauguration marked another historic milestone, becoming the first British Indian to hold this esteemed position. Delivering his inaugural address at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Sunak emphasized the significance of his appointment, portraying it as evidence of the nation's inclusivity and progress. Now, Wales elects "Europe's First Black Leader,". Is this progress?
“Never let anyone tell you that this is a racist country. It is not. My story is a British story.” Rishi Sunak.
United Kingdom
So what was it about the former Goldman Sachs hedge fund banker and previous Chancellor of the Exchequer that made him the best choice for Conservative ministers? Was it his ‘proud’ display of Indian heritage? His perceived economic literacy? His billionaire wife? His Oxford education? Probably all of these things - to a varying degree. Rishi Sunak is the perfect model for what a person of foreign descent can achieve. For if we truly were a ‘racist’ country, he wouldn’t have got close! Right? His appointment only clarifies how racism, in Britain, is a thing of yesteryears. In the same way that misogyny became a historic relic after the appointment of Margaret Thatcher in 1979! Right?
Recent comments made by a top Conservative Party donor, who has given over £15m in funding to the party, have dominated British tabloids this week. Dianne Abbot is the UK’s first elected black female MP & has been a powerful voice in British politics for over 4 decades. An Independent MP who was suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party last year after a clumsy article in which she criticised the given hierarchies of racism in our society. Tory donor and businessman, Frank Hester, was recorded in a private conversation giving his thoughts on Diane Abbot:
“It’s like trying not to be racist but you see Diane Abbott on the TV and you’re just like, I hate, you just want to hate all black women because she’s there, and I don’t hate all black women at all, but I think she should be shot.
But how is this possible? With the ushering in of our (relatively) new and esteemed neo-liberal freedoms (@MaggieThatcher & Co), our Shatachandra in society has come in the form of anti-discrimination legislation, intelligence-led ‘Prevent’ programmes and hate crime laws. We should be safe! However, the purported resolutions to racism, sexism, ableism & the targeting of protected characteristics, haven’t materialised as well as what is advertised. Growing wealth divides, mass incarceration, stagnating wages, attacks on labour, attacks on welfare, and the dismantling of minimal poverty alleviation programmes. We witness a showcase of the apparatus of class warfare, in a time where the concept of class has been distorted past the point of recognition. The limitations of legislation to combat structural social woes must be recognised, as should the necessity for civic virtues. It is paramount to accept that without a balance for personal liberties; the right to life, and freedom from force - there can be no democratic means of change. When these fundamental freedoms are threatened or denied, it can only foster discontent and lead to the emergence of insurgent movements seeking to reclaim or defend these liberties outside of established political frameworks. Every human being, in the face of death and persecution, is in the pursuit of three things. Protection, Association, and Recognition.
As the excellent intellectual and orator, Angela Davis, said in a 2016 address to the Oxford Union:
“As long as legalised slavery existed, humans were compelled to take extreme measures. Forced to steal their own bodies from their masters”
Class Obscurement: Politics of Difference and Identity
The Politics of Difference and Identity Politics are intertwined within the genealogy of neoliberal ideology, shaping the landscape of diversity and inclusion initiatives. Neoliberalism, characterised by its emphasis on individualism, self maximisation and ‘free markets’, provides the backdrop for these dynamics. Margaret Thatcher's infamous statement, "There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families. It is our duty to look after ourselves", epitomises the neoliberal ethos of prioritising individual self-reliance over collective welfare. Within this framework, diversity initiatives often result in tokenistic gestures towards inclusion, lacking substantive changes to address underlying power structures and systemic inequalities. #BlackOutTuesday!
Instead of performative virtue signalling, the amplification of voices of power is a force of pragmatism - as Dr. Cornel West displays
Moreover, within neoliberalism, the Politics of difference extends to appropriating identity-based movements for corporate interests. This includes using symbols of diversity and inclusion as marketing tools to enhance brand image and appeal to consumers, without genuinely addressing the concerns of marginalised communities.
For instance, the infamous Pepsi advert in 2017.
Our manufactured engagement with identity politics has allowed for the commodification of identity markers such as gender, race, and sexuality. Instead of challenging systemic oppression, identity politics reduces identity to a commodity - like everything else. Diversity initiatives in corporations, while ostensibly aimed at promoting inclusivity and representation, fall short of addressing the underlying power dynamics that perpetuate oppression. Take the recent awarding of a ‘LGBT Award’ to a transgender Lockheed Martin engineer… Celebrated and rejoiced by liberals, ecstatic to finally see a queer vulture capitalist and despised by conservatives who don't trust trans people in their ability to exist. At long last… Representation!
Inequality, Commercialisation, and Corporate Capture
Finally, In this excerpt from "Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism's Stealth Revolution", Wendy Brown examines the intricate repercussions of neoliberal economic policies. Critiquing the intensified inequality, unethical commercialization, and symbiotic relationship between corporate interests and the state, the text unveils the far-reaching impacts of neoliberalism. Referencing prominent figures and works such as Robert Reich, Paul Krugman, and Sheldon S. Wolin, the extract delves into the complex web of neoliberal critiques, challenging the very foundations of this economic cancer.
I don’t need to add my own thoughts.
Critics of these policies and practices usually concentrate on four deleterious effects. The first is intensified inequality, in which the very top strata acquires and retains ever more wealth, the very bottom is literally turned out on the streets or into the growing urban and suburban slums of the world, while the middle strata works more hours for less pay, fewer benefits, less security, and less promise of retirement or upward mobility than at any time in the past half century. While they rarely use the term "neoliberalism," this is the emphasis of the valuable critiques of Western state policy offered by economists Robert Reich, Paul Krugman, and Joseph Stiglitz among others. Growing inequality is also among the effects that Thomas Piketty establishes as fundamental to the recent past and near future of post-Keynesian capitalism.
The second criticism of neoliberal state economic policy and deregulation pertains to the crass or unethical commercialization of things and activities considered inappropriate for marketization. The claim is that marketization contributes to human exploitation or degradation (for example, Third World baby surrogates for wealthy First World couples), because it limits or stratifies access to what ought to be broadly accessible and shared (education, wilderness, infrastructure) , or because it enables something intrinsically horrific or severely denigrating to the planet (organ trafficking, pollution rights, clearcutting, fracking) . Again, while they do not use the term "neoliberalism," this is the thrust of the critiques forwarded in Debra Satz's ‘Why Some Things Should Not Be for Sale’ and Michael Sandel's ‘What Money Can't Buy’.
Thirdly, critics of neoliberalism understood as state economic policy are also distressed by the ever-growing intimacy of corporate and finance capital with the state, and corporate domination of political decisions and economic policy. Sheldon S. Wolin emphasizes this in ‘Democracy, Incorporated’, although Wolin, too, avoids the descriptor "neoliberalism." These themes are also the signature of filmmaker Michael Moore, and are developed in a different way by Paul Pierson and Jacob Hacker in Winner-Take-All Politics.
Finally, critics of neoliberal state policy are often concerned with the economic havoc wreaked on the economy by the ascendance and liberty of finance capital, especially the destabilizing effects of the inherent bubbles and other dramatic fluctuations of financial markets. Made vivid by the immediate shock as well as the long tail of the 2008-2009 finance-capital meltdown, these effects are also underscored by the routinely widening discrepancies between the fates of Wall Street and the so-called "real" economy.
P.S. If that was a bit too wordy - take heed of Gary Stevenson, eloquating it so simply.