Why Anti-Racism Means Anti-Capitalism w/ Arun Kundnani
Aug 25, 2023
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Arun Kundnani discusses the link between anti-racism and anti-capitalism, highlighting the ineffectiveness of liberal antiracism. He explores the intertwined nature of racism, imperialism, and capitalism, emphasizing the need for systemic change. The discussion touches on historical developments, colonial legacies, and strategies for collective struggle against racial capitalism.
Radical anti-racism focuses on systemic structures, not just individual biases.
Anti-racism and anti-capitalism intersect, critiquing liberal approaches.
Racial capitalism uses racism to maintain hierarchical capitalist structures.
Collective action is key to dismantling systemic inequalities and racial capitalism.
Diverse global movements offer avenues for challenging oppressive structures.
Deep dives
Exploring the Concept of Anti-Racism
The origin and development of anti-racism from the 1930s are examined, comparing liberal and radical conceptions. The term 'racism' emerged in the 1930s encompassing anti-Semitism, colonialism, and oppression in the Americas. While liberals focused on the rise of Nazism, radicals like C.L.R. James emphasized structural racism, viewing it as a social system reinforcing wealth disparities.
Personal Motivations Behind Writing the Book
The author's activism since youth and familial history of anti-colonial politics influenced the book. The inspiration stemmed from the 2020 uprisings post-George Floyd's murder, highlighting systemic racial violence. The book delves into anti-racism tied to anti-capitalism, critiquing liberal approaches that focus on individual biases.
Challenging Liberal Approaches to Anti-Racism
The podcast sheds light on the liberal lens of addressing racism, emphasizing individual biases over systemic structures. Criticism is directed towards initiatives like 'unconscious bias training', favoring a deeper understanding rooted in anti-imperialism and anti-capitalism. Fanon and James' contributions redefine anti-racism within a radical Marxist framework.
Racial Capitalism's Influence on Global Politics
The conversation delves into the complexities of racial capitalism and imperialism, unveiling their impact on global politics. Issues of domestic racism in the US, reframing of social democracy, and neoliberal transformations are scrutinized within the framework of racial capitalism. The discourse uncovers how historical legacies perpetuate systemic inequalities globally.
Racial Capitalism and Its Impact on Labor Relations
Racial capitalism introduces a layer of complexity to the traditional narrative of labor-capital clashes. It highlights the diverse nature of labor relationships globally, encompassing not only wage labor but also various other categories like slaves and indentured workers. This diversity challenges the homogenizing tendency in depicting labor-capital interactions, emphasizing the differentiated nature of the working class.
Role of Racism in Organizing a Differentiated Workforce
Racism emerges as a tool used by capitalism to organize a workforce that exhibits social differentiations essential for maintaining the hierarchical structure of capitalism. In Western contexts, racism justifies the exclusion of certain groups from the standard capitalist narrative of equality and freedom, enabling the exploitation of marginalized populations and reinforcing systemic inequalities.
Challenges to Neoliberal Thinking and Collective Organizing
Critiques of neoliberalism often overlook the intersections of imperialism and labor organizing, failing to address the continued role of imperialism in shaping global capitalism. Collective organizing against neoliberal policies and systemic oppression requires a shift towards building disciplined, committed groups focused on dismantling structural inequalities and creating new systems through unified collective action.
Building Collective Power for Systemic Change
The pathway to systemic change involves moving beyond individual traumas and biases by fostering collective power through organized group efforts. By prioritizing collective action over individual introspection, marginalized communities can challenge structures of racial capitalism and dismantle systemic injustices through coordinated efforts and transformative collective engagement.
Hopeful Signs in Activist Movements Globally
Positive developments in activist movements, such as the 2020 uprisings in the US, anti-deportation movements in the UK, and global initiatives like the Indian farmers' protests and climate activism, offer avenues for coordinated resistance against racial capitalism. These diverse movements demonstrate the potential for transnational solidarity and collective action to challenge oppressive structures and foster progressive social change.
Author's Work and Social Engagement
To engage with the author's work and social critiques, individuals can explore Arun Kundnani's website for access to his publications and contact information. Arun's insights on anti-racism as anti-capitalism encourage critical reflections on systemic inequalities and the need for collective action to address racial capitalism and foster social transformation.
In this important episode, Arun Kundnani comes on the show to discuss his new book What Is Antiracism?: And Why It Means Anticapitalism. This is a fascinating discussion that focuses on liberal vs. radical conceptions of antiracism, and why liberal antiracism has proven powerless against structural oppression. This topic is important for us to think about as we build movements that tackle all forms of oppression, including racial oppression.
Arun Kundnani has been active in antiracist movements in Britain and the United States for three decades. He is a former editor of the journal Race & Class and was a scholar-in-residence at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library. His website can be found at https://www.kundnani.org/ and you can follow him on Twitter @@ArunKundnani.
