Recently, observers of Western political economies have debated corporate embrace of social justice ideology. A preferable term to the pejorative 'woke', social justice ideology emphasizes lived experience, emotional safety, direct action and the oppressiveness of established institutions.
I enjoy reading this Substack Thomas as it deals with many issues on my research agenda but doesn’t use the cheap, inflammatory and unhelpful script that is offered to us by bad faith actors (woke pseudo-religion and so on).
A common complaint from the Left is that social justice ideology is a poor substitute for the politics of class because it is performative, tokenistic, and, for example, often elevates people of colour who are from privileged class backgrounds, without ever troubling the status quo. Critics from the right argue structural inequalities are a woke myth. But they also argue that the white working class suffers from structural disadvantage because woke institutions and corporations discriminate against it. However, rather than advocate for structural upheaval, these critics emphasise the need to reduce or end immigration and give the white working class a more prominent voice in the public sphere. However, they don’t want to hear white working-class voices that advocate for a dismantling of neoliberal capital’s power and wealth structures. How often do they have ‘debates’ about the tax arrangements of hedge-fund managers on GBNews? Particularly the one who is keeping GBNews afloat. Or about the climate denialism that is protecting the interests and profits fossil fuel companies and their investors?
Many of my colleagues would call these causes social justice. So, my question for you Thomas is this: when is the politics of class, which advocates for structural upheaval and emphasizes the life stories of people living in poverty (I am thinking of films like I, Daniel Blake as examples of ‘lived experience’) not part of ‘the social justice ideology’ that the Right are so keen to ignore or discredit?
I enjoy reading this Substack Thomas as it deals with many issues on my research agenda but doesn’t use the cheap, inflammatory and unhelpful script that is offered to us by bad faith actors (woke pseudo-religion and so on).
A common complaint from the Left is that social justice ideology is a poor substitute for the politics of class because it is performative, tokenistic, and, for example, often elevates people of colour who are from privileged class backgrounds, without ever troubling the status quo. Critics from the right argue structural inequalities are a woke myth. But they also argue that the white working class suffers from structural disadvantage because woke institutions and corporations discriminate against it. However, rather than advocate for structural upheaval, these critics emphasise the need to reduce or end immigration and give the white working class a more prominent voice in the public sphere. However, they don’t want to hear white working-class voices that advocate for a dismantling of neoliberal capital’s power and wealth structures. How often do they have ‘debates’ about the tax arrangements of hedge-fund managers on GBNews? Particularly the one who is keeping GBNews afloat. Or about the climate denialism that is protecting the interests and profits fossil fuel companies and their investors?
Many of my colleagues would call these causes social justice. So, my question for you Thomas is this: when is the politics of class, which advocates for structural upheaval and emphasizes the life stories of people living in poverty (I am thinking of films like I, Daniel Blake as examples of ‘lived experience’) not part of ‘the social justice ideology’ that the Right are so keen to ignore or discredit?