Identity Politics

Andrew Anthony had some interesting thoughts on anti-racism and identity in yesterday's Guardian, which I think merit careful consideration. One of my great concerns is that at least some aspects of modern anti-racism are actually counterproductive. This is not to deny that racism is a very real problem in modern British society, it certainly is. The important question is how we deal with this problem. I don't claim to have all the answers, although I do think polyculturalism, which emphasises the complex reality of people's cultural backgrounds (which contrary to the claims of the purists constitute a mish-mash of influences from various migrations and interactions), can play a useful role here. So to, at least potentially, can a class based analysis emphasising that the interests of those from the same class are much more closely tied up than those of a worker and their boss (for instance) even where they are members of the same race.