Progressive Politics

[David]

Here's a new discussion/debate on identity politics featuring Judith Butler, Cornel West and Glenn Greenwald that some might find interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv-TXOfI7vg

[stui magpie]

I might have a look but I struggle with watching videos that require concentration, I prefer reading.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal ... 59a8k.html

Interesting article I read a week or so ago on how Identity is replacing Class as the basis of left politics.

It creates a conundrum for the Labor Party which was founded on and by the union movement, the workers party, as the educated elite generally have no time for the working class masses.

[pietillidie]

[stui magpie]

^

Nah, wide of the mark. Try to read the article, it's very similar to something David posted not long back.

[pietillidie]

^I was just bouncing off the topic. Putting the original article aside, my claim of a growing unemployable right underclass ought to be causing people who care to lose sleep. Once underclasses become locked in, they're very hard to undo.

[stui magpie]

They do sort of play into each other in a way. The gist of the article as I understand it is that the left is increasingly attracting university educated people who are more interested in identity politics. This leaves the working class, the traditional Labor voters, disenfranchised by the left and attracted to some of the far right ideals that, in appearance at least, give them a voice.

Many of the people who flocked to Trump were just Blue Collar workers who'd seen the factories and industries they worked in closed down. They felt disempowered and without a voice and Hilary's collective insults only pushed more that way.

[roar]

Here's a new discussion/debate on identity politics featuring Judith Butler, Cornel West and Glenn Greenwald that some might find interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv-TXOfI7vg

Thanks for posting this, David.

[Jezza]

Thanks for the link, David.

I've becoming a growing admirer of Glenn Greenwald.

[David]

I’m a fan too, Jezza! I think he says some really perceptive stuff here in particular, though I found the contributions from all of the participants interesting and worth listening to.

[roar]

Yep, all 3 provided insightful discussion. More open, respectful discussions without the political bs is what we need.

[nomadjack]

Ron Inglehart (post-materialist politics) says hi! Am I missing something here or is this discussion 40 years late to the party?

[David]

Can you expand on that, NJ? I must admit I’m not familiar with his work at all.

[nomadjack]

Can you expand on that, NJ? I must admit I’m not familiar with his work at all.

Inglehart was an American political sociologist who's work has been really influential in how we understand changes in political values and by extension party systems and party competition. His 1977 work The Silent Revolution is a good place to start. In a nutshell his argument was that increasing levels of prosperity in western industrial societies in the postwar period has meant that for many, the values that drive political behaviour have shifted away from material concerns. We're no longer driven by concerns around satisfying basic material needs (food, shelter etc) as the level of prosperity has risen to the point where, for most, these needs are satisfied. This has resulted in a value shift with voters now motivated by post material issues (those associated with what are now often called 'identity politics' - gender, ethnicity, environment etc).

When you apply the theory to party systems, the argument is that we have seen a shift in importance from traditional political cleavages based on class which have been relatively stable over time, to cleavages based on post material issues. These tend to be more fragmented, dynamic and cross-cutting which explains why party identification (loyalty) and political systems have become less stable over the past 20-30 years.

[David]

[stui magpie]

yeah, NJ's succinct summary does make perfect sense with the benefit of hindsight. That someone wrote it in the 70's is really good work.

I personally don't see material politics in Australia making a resurgence, while there are certainly many impoverished people, there's not nearly enough to make a critical mass. Society has changed, politics needs to change with it. It's called evolution.

I wouldn't be at all surprised though if material politics does make a comeback in Europe and the USA. Trump basically bought himself the Presidency using it.