Author: skzb

I play the drum.

Identity Politics and the PC Movement: An Historical Look

Idealism is the belief that ideas are primary to matter; that consciousness determines being. As a materialist, I reject it.  Really.  I mean, I try to.  I know I should.  But this voice in my head keeps whispering, “If you explain just one more time, everyone will understand and agree with you.”  This is idealism, because it ignores that my ideas flow from my conditions, and that other people’s ideas flow from theirs, and there is only a limited degree to which discussions can change ideas.  I know that.  And I will remember it.  Tomorrow.  But today, I’m going to try to explain just one more time.

In the last discussion of political correctness, David (professorperry) has quite correctly made it clear that I haven’t expressed myself well.  I don’t know why people should expect me to express myself well.  I mean, I’m only a writer for god’s sake.   Let me see if I can take a different approach to this whole thing.  It is obvious that I have given the impression that I believe the only, or at least the biggest, problem with Political Correctness is that it keeps you from doing more productive work. Let me try again.

The PC movement and the supporters of Identity Politics are closely aligned, and grew out of a very definite history. From the mid 60’s to the early 70’s, there was tremendous anger among youth, starting with outrage at the Vietnam War. Internationally, this was often anger (a healthy anger, in my opinion) directed at the US, which often turned into anger directed at their own governments. This reached a peak in France in 1968, during which time the French working class became involved on a massive scale, and international capitalism was shaken to its roots. You may not believe capitalism was ever actually threatened by the events in France, but it is very clear that capitalists did: read any major newspaper of the time.

The Vietnam War ended exactly when the student protests in the US began to spread out to include the unions. (Well, that and the military victories of the NLF.)

At the same time, it became directed at one man: Nixon, as the most extreme representative of the war, and of everything that was hateful about capitalism.

But these protests were just that–protests. They were led  by those (SDS, SWP, SMC, &c) with no theoretical training in Marxism, and often an active hostility to Marxism or, in fact, theory of any kind. For the most part, they hated capitalism, but had no idea how to get from here to there–how to go from an outraged working class, to taking control of production. Could that have happened then? Personally, I doubt it; I don’t think conditions were right. The foundations could have been built for a movement prepared for the future. Instead, because of bankrupt leadership that based itself on the middle class, on begging the ruling class to be kinder, on accepting capitalism as given, what happened was that those involved in the protest didn’t see any way forward. I still remember that day: the day Nixon resigned. There was tremendous joy–and a simultaneous emptiness.

“Now what?” was the unspoken, almost unanimous question throughout the protest movement. And because of the lack of theoretical discussion, because of the failure to break from capitalism, because of the limited aims on the part of the leadership, the answer was: massive demoralization. This demoralization fractured the protest movement into many parts, depending on the mood and inclination of the individual. Food Co-ops, the New Age, &c.

As the working class had failed to do what the middle class radicals believed it should do (“reject material things” and “embrace anarchy” and above all, “follow our lead”), the middle class radicals gave up on the working class. Now many of them started reading Heidegger, and Marcuse, and others who had been demoralized by failures of the revolutions after WWI or WWII. The demoralized youth turned for guidance to the demoralized academic.  Enter here the theories of the post-modernists.  “Wait,” they cried.  “It isn’t at all a matter of understanding the world, it is a matter of which ideas you chose to accept.  It is a question of picking the proper narrative for what you wish to accomplish.  Let us not only reject the working class as the revolutionary class, but, along with that, science as the means to understand social relations.  In fact, let us reject science altogether; it just leads to progress, and what is progress but a narrative that leads to war and prejudice and oppression?”  Of course, different elements stopped in different places along this spectrum; some still accept science as long as it is kept “in its place.”  Others are suspicious of progress, but want us to redefine it rather than reject it utterly.  What they have in common is rejection of the idea that we can understand social relations and make that understanding work for us to accomplish definite ends.

This marriage of the New Left and the Post-Modernists produced offspring as disfigured as one might expect.  One of the most vacuous pieces of New Left ideology was, “the personal is the political.” This was very attractive to middle class radicals who had given up on the working class but felt comfortable discussing what was inside of their own–and others’–heads on a very personal basis.  Combine it with substitution of “narrative” for science, and, hey presto!  We have the beginnings of what we call political correctness.

By the 1980s, when Reagan was attacking the unions and capitalism was preparing and launching efforts to destroy anything that interfered with unfettered profit–these same middle class radicals had stock portfolios, and good jobs, and tenure, and some of them had even propelled themselves out of the middle class entirely. Their rejection of the working class was easy–they’d already done it.

And then those who wanted to tell themselves they were doing good came together with those who who didn’t care about doing good, but wanted to break down the gap between the high-income middle class black and the high-income middle class white; between the high-income middle class man and the high-income middle class woman. These groups came together easily and naturally. To them, the problem is not property relations that cause oppression and poverty and bare subsistence for millions upon millions of people; the problem is inequality between different sections of the upper middle class. From there, if you believe that “the personal is the political,” it is a simple step to saying, “I will break down this inequality among the upper middle class by making sure no one uses the generic ‘he.'” Altering language becomes the substitute–not for action in the most literal sense–but for fighting to understand the world from the point of view of taking action; from fighting to actually end oppression, to fighting to reduce inequality among the privileged.

Today’s PC movement is an outgrowth of the subjective idealism of the New Left. Subjective idealism is the belief that consciousness determines being combined with a focus on the consciousness of individuals, rather than the consciousness of the masses.  Just like its empty-headed twin sibling Identity Politics, it ends up supporting capitalism, supporting oppression, and making the struggle for genuine equality more difficult.

Why So Much Politics Lately?

In my post on “political correctness” someone said, in effect, “Well, that was interesting, now get back to work.” I know that some writers would be annoyed by that, however well-intentioned. I know that some would be flattered. I had both reactions. But, in fact, it is, quite simply, a reasonable point and one worth addressing. After all, what I am, first, last, and always, is a writer, a story-teller; I am not a politician. Although we all, from time to time, may be called upon to take a stand on some social issue lest we prove ourselves morally bankrupt, politics is a calling, like the priesthood, or teaching, or writing–and it’s one I don’t have. So why don’t I shut up about politics and get back to work?

Last night Jen and I attended a speech by David North on the fifteen year anniversary of the World Socialist Web Site. It was deeply engaging, and triggered some thinking.

As a materialist, I have held all along that being determines consciousness. This is not a mere abstraction, rather, it helps explain a great deal in contemporary ideology. For example, those involved in identity politics are, or at least speak for, a highly privileged section of the upper middle class who care exactly nothing for the conditions of the impoverished millions, but want to see their own position elevated to that of those with even more privilege. Obama appeals to these same sections, who give him support (albeit sometimes critical support) to carry out measures of repression, including assassination, that would have created a huge outcry had Bush attempted them. And so on.

But this law–being determines consciousness–applies to me as well. Very much it applies to me. I am not immune to the social forces around me. Quite the contrary. In my testimonial to the World Socialist Web Site I said the following: “No matter how much one tells stories of magical beasts or impossible worlds, in the end, it is always the world of here and now one is writing about. The better one understands that world, the more powerful the stories will be.” I truly believe this. I more than believe it, I feel it. And so, when events in the world leave me confused and disoriented, it becomes more difficult for me to tell a story about an ex-assassin on the run and his flying lizard familiar. That is a plain, unvarnished fact, and I must ask you to accept it.

But look at what has been happening in the world. An American president has, with the agreement and cooperation of the media–even the supposedly liberal sections of the media–all but thrown out the Bill of Rights. Habeas corpus is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. The New York Times justifies depriving human beings–even American citizens–of life without so much as a nod at due process. Look up the Articles of Impeachment drawn up against Richard Nixon after Watergate, and compare them to the crimes that Obama has admitted to. We live in strange and difficult times, my friends. In my own field–in the science fiction community–there was the (to me) tremendously disorienting Scott Card affair (if I sounded sure of myself in the discussions of that matter, please believe I was not–I was struggling to find my way).

I attempt in my work to depict people as they are, in at least some, if not all, of the complexities of human and social relations; to understand how the society we live in is reflected in the individual choices we make. While I try very, very hard to keep direct politics out of my work (I figure my readers hate being preached to as much as I do), my world-view is central to it, and I make no apologies for that.

However, the process is dialectical. It isn’t as simple as, “Okay, now I’m going to understand things. Good. That’s done. Now I can tell a story.” It doesn’t work that way for me (nor, in my opinion, for anyone). It is much more complex: the work on the story feeds questions and answers into my attempts to understand the world I live in, and my understanding of that world feeds questions and answers into the story. This blog is one of the tools I use to work through my understanding of the complex and contradictory events in life; which then permits me to enter, fully engaged, into telling the story.

In brief, I have been writing more on political and social issues, because political and social issues are becoming more difficult, complex, and explosive. Because I live in the real world where those things affect my ideas and understanding. Because working through that understanding is a necessary part of my story telling.

I hope that clarifies matters, Chuck. Now I’m going to get back to work on Hawk.

What Should Be Called “Politically Correct?”

Oddly enough, my first encounter with the term was in the mid-80s from a supporter of the concept making fun of it. That is, she used a questionable term, then said ironically, “Oops. I guess I wasn’t being ‘politically correct’ there.” Yes, she used the air quotes.*

Anyway, she then had to explain the term. I don’t remember the explanation, but I remember it resulted in a long argument.

So, when we hear the term “politically correct” we are talking, as I understand it, about two things:

1. The crazy notion that you ought not to use demeaning and disrespectful terms to describe people.

2. The equally crazy notion that our language influences our thinking.

Now, up to that point, it seems perfectly reasonable. So reasonable, in fact, that one has to wonder why the concept is described with what is usually considered a term of derision.

One reason is simple: The primary identifier with what we call political correctness is taking a noun or an adjective and adding “ism” to it.  In my opinion, you very quickly reach the point of silliness.  I mean, “ageism?”  Seriously?  That’s what you’re going with?  In fact, let’s look at that one; it provides some insights.

Yes, I recognize that it takes less time to say “ageism” than to say, “age discrimination.”  But what is more significant is the common usage.  I first heard “ageism” from someone explaining that he didn’t like “Maggie-May” by Rod Stewart because the line, “The morning sun when it’s in your face really shows your age” is ageist.  Really. That’s what he said.  From that standpoint, as a middle-aged man who is sad that more hot 18-year-olds aren’t attracted to him, I think eliminating “ageism” would be great. But, c’mon.

I have never heard “ageist” used in, “They wouldn’t hire this kid at the fast food place because there are now older, more reliable, more settled people available for those jobs,” or, “They wouldn’t hire her because she’s too close to retirement age.” And the reason is because, for those issues, the term “age discrimination” deals with an action, and “ageism” with a thought. “Ageism” isn’t about unfairly keeping people from things they’re entitled to, it’s about bad thoughts.  “Ableism” isn’t about failing to provide reasonable access to those with disabilities, it’s about bad thoughts.  “Classism” isn’t about the different living conditions of those who must sell their labor-power and those who exploit labor, it’s about bad thoughts.

Which then ties into point two above.  Yes, indeed: as a writer, I’m the last person to deny that the words we use affect how we think. But how much of an effect compared to other things?  I should tell you that, when I have a toothache, no matter how much I tell myself that it’s a soothing warmth, it still hurts just as much.

Yes, well, but what about racism? One the one hand, that is also about thinking bad thoughts. But on the other, historically, the fight to end racism was part of the fight to emancipate the working class.  Now, yes, with the “anti-racist” movement, it has turned into a tangled nest of trivialities.  But there is long tradition before that of battles for issues that were vital–that made a difference to more than a group of privileged middle-class radicals concerned that someone is making them feel bad.  It is that tradition that, in my opinion, makes all the difference.

At some point, you cross a line.

On one side of the line is avoiding disrespectful language.  On the other side is a dramatic overestimation of how much language affects thought, and an underestimation of the importance of material conditions.  This leads to people directing efforts to change others’ language–and, indeed, ideas–as opposed to concentrating on the conditions that create discrimination, and on trying to understand how those conditions can be changed.  In the fight to change conditions, of course, language is a powerful tool.  It is vital to be able to make fine distinctions–to understand and communicate with precision.  If you have two politicians who both support capitalism (hard to believe, I know, but go with me), it is very useful to be able to describe one as reactionary, the other as a reformist; they are different, and must be addressed and attacked differently.  Other shades within those are also useful.  So I’m not saying language doesn’t matter.

“Yes,” some will say.  “But ideas lead to actions.”  Well, yes, they certainly do.  But whence came those ideas in the first place?  As a materialist, I believe that being determines consciousness.  Why is it that the woman near retirement isn’t being hired; that someone younger is?  It is not because someone in Human Resources dislikes old people; it is because it is in the economic interests of the company to hire someone who may be around longer after training.   If you think it is the thoughts that are primary, you will concentrate on getting people to think right, and believe that this will change conditions.  If you think conditions are primary, you will concentrate on changing conditions, convinced that ideas–or the possibility of attacking those ideas–will follow.

In a way, of course, this all takes place in the realm of ideas.  But there is a non-trivial difference between, “Let’s fight to make sure that everyone, regardless of age, has a decent standard of living,” and, “stop using language that implies some age is better than another.”  These battles will produce different results.  Are they mutually exclusive? In theory, no.  In practice, they seem to be.  Those who concentrate on language appear to have accepted the fundamental characteristics of society as given and are working to make certain adjustments within it.

“Negroes” became “blacks” became “African-Americans” or “People of color” and it made exactly zero difference.  Black police were appointed and black mayors (and now a President)  were elected and it made exactly zero difference.  A mass movement of the black poor gathered, swept students and working class whites into its wake, and shook society to its core, and that made a difference in the lives of millions of human beings.  Yes, I know: there are those who will say that things are “no different” now than during the period of Jim Crow, because people still have racist thoughts.  People who say that can vote, and drink at whatever water fountain they chose, eat in restaurants, and date who they wish without expecting to be lynched.  Not to put too fine a point on it, but they can fuck off.

Language is a reflection of culture, much more than a determinate.  It is, in my opinion, sufficient to point out that there are several languages (at least ten) in use today that have a gender-neutral pronoun;  none of them demonstrate fewer signs of oppression of women than those that use the generic “he.”

When the concentration is on language, the issues it can address are trivialities of concern only to a privileged few.

When the concentration is on action, the issues it can address are of vital concern to millions.

My mother was often selected to chair meetings.  The speaker would frequently open with, “Comrade chairman and comrades.” At one point, a feminist berated my mother for allowing herself to be addressed as “chairman” instead of “chairwoman” or “chairperson,” and I can still remember the contempt on my mother’s face–a face that really wasn’t used to showing contempt.  “We’re trying to overthrow capitalism,” she said.  “We don’t have time for nonsense.”

So there is the real question: are you going to work to end the system that breeds–that requires–unfair discrimination among people, so that the oppressed masses will have a chance to escape oppression?  Or will you simply accept that system as permanent and see if you can change a few hearts and minds so that the middle-class can be more comfortable?  Someone who dismisses you as “politically correct” because you do not want to use demeaning terms to describe people, is just being an asshole.  But someone who uses the term for cases where ideas are seen as more important than human oppression may well be onto something.

 

 

*This was pre-internet, remember, so conversations were sometimes face-to-face.  I mean, both of you in the same room at the same time.  You’ll have to just take my word that this used to happen, and wasn’t even considered that odd.  I could probably find evidence to support my assertion, but I’m too lazy to look it up right now.