Time To Say Goodbye Depoliticization, Identity Politics and Protest with Asad Haider
Apr 9, 2021
Asad Haider, author and founding editor of Viewpoint Magazine, shares his insights on race, class, and identity politics. He discusses how 9/11 shaped his political identity and traces the evolution of identity politics into a pejorative term. The conversation touches on the co-option risks of movements like Black Lives Matter and the contrast between representation and structural change. Asad critiques social media's impact on activism and highlights the need for genuine solidarity in pursuit of emancipation.
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9/11 Radicalized Personal Identity
- Asad Haider describes 9/11 as the moment his suspended immigrant identity became politicized and pushed him toward political theory and critique.
- He and his family sought out Noam Chomsky tapes and began studying U.S. foreign policy and imperialism in response.
The Term 'Identity Politics' Has A History
- Identity politics is a term with a history and a political function, not a fixed category.
- Its original usage by the Combahee River Collective fused anti-racist, feminist, and class concerns rather than separating them.
Demobilization Enables Co-Optation
- Mass-movement gains plus demobilization enabled previously excluded elites to enter existing institutions.
- Those entrants could use racial solidarity language to mask austerity and preserve the existing social order.
