The Question of Progressive-Left Racism

Michael Lumish

My central thesis is that the western-left is shedding Enlightenment liberalism.

The capitulation of universal human rights in the face of the multicultural challenge has led to the western-left betrayal of women, Gay people, and ethnic minorities in the Middle East, the rise of left-leaning racism in the West, and an attack at the core Enlightenment liberal value of freedom of speech throughout the universities and the culture at large.

I was recently in an exchange with an individual of the progressive-left persuasion.

He asked me this:

How pervasive a role do you believe these so-called "absolutely toxic, divisive, and racist influences of contemporary left 'identity politics' play in determining the outcome of, say, a presidential election? The Republicans, for example, have been openly using racist dog whistle phrases since at least 1968 but don't appear to have suffered greatly as a result.

This was my response:

The question of just how pervasive the role of progressive-left racism was to Hillary's defeat is a good one. It's hard to say, of course. Whatever the extent of influence I feel reasonably certain that the struggling white working class does not much appreciate progressive-left condescension.

Here are a few examples of articles that have come out recently.

The Nation has something called, "How Donald Trump Will Make America White Again".

The Grapevine published "Dear White People: Here’s a List of Things We’d Wish You’d Stop Doing".

AlterNet has "America's White Male Problem".

Salon ran a piece entitled, "Samantha Bee Calls Out White People, and Specifically White Women, for 'Ruining America'".

Salon also ran a piece entitled, "White men must be stopped: The very future of mankind depends on it".

ThoughtCatalog ran an article called, "America Has A Problem And It’s Called Straight White Men".

MTV, of course, gave the world "New Years Resolutions for White Males".

The Racism Review sees, "Elite White Men as The Problem".

And on and on and on.

I can assure you that very many white people will look at such progressive-left cultural productions and say, "Ya know what? Go fuck yourselves." Just what percentage will do that is difficult to say.

What matters, tho, is not the hurt feelings of white people but the ideological inconsistency of the progressive-left which fancies itself an anti-racist movement.

As we just saw at the Dyke March in Chicago... it isn't.

The truth of the matter is that the western-left is going thru a process of deliberalization and the increasing racism (or bigotry) on the left is one of the primary means through which this is happening.

The other significant assault on liberalism by the western-left is the assault on free speech. I imagine that Milo Yiannapolous and Dave Rubin and Sam Harris and Bill Maher may have a word or two on that subject.

This means only in economics does the western-left maintain something of a grip on liberalism because left-economics is still grounded in regulatory capitalism.

Once it gives up on that it will have left Enlightenment liberalism behind entirely.