Working class solidarity the antidote to the rise of the Far-Right

Multicultural liberalism has failed to address capitalism’s violence on the lives of the working poor, writes Yuki Lindley, leaving the door wide open for the far-right, billionaire-backed grifters to take control of the narrative.

AUSTRALIA is one of the most successful multicultural societies in the world and our diversity is our strength. Successive politicians across the political spectrum have echoed these sentiments since the former Prime Minister. Paul Keating challenged the nation to embrace multiculturalism as a path to economic success.

Liberal progressives around the world like to imagine that they are post-racial, that their embrace of multiculturalism has made them allies of the historically marginalized, and that those who drape themselves in the Australian flag and demand an end to “mass immigration” are the last vestiges of white nationalism in a country on a steady path of progress.

But what progressive liberals actually expect from multiculturalism is a wider selection of cuisines, cultural events, and shows; A safe multiculturalism is a structure that benefits them and works for them. In this sense, they reflect emotions. Pauline HansonWhen it demands that Australia maintain a monoculture where we can accept people who look different from us as long as they accept our “way of life”.

The “lifestyle” that multicultural liberals most want to maintain is one of relative privilege within a system built on capitalist exploitation. Liberals constantly talk about the need for tolerance and respect. But racism and xenophobia will only be addressed when the inequalities brought about by racist capitalism and neoliberalism are confronted.

We need to acknowledge the violence of capitalism; Some he protects and serves, and some he makes disposable in his calculations.

The rise of the right is correctly associated with increasing worker precarity caused by neoliberal austerity measures that are eroding social safety nets and destroying social spaces and political life in favor of a culture of individualism built around consumption.

Yes, the cost of living crisis is fueling the rise of Far Right ideologies and One Nation; However, the reason why these complaints are easily transformed into attacks against immigrants is the sole ideology produced by progressive liberalism.

Treating race, gender, and other forms of oppression as issues of identity that can be resolved by increasing diversity within positions of power, progressive liberalism has ushered in an era of ecological collapse, obscene levels of inequality, and the emergence of a global military industrial complex that fuels conflict, incarceration, and mass surveillance.

All this at a time when we are seeing increased diversity in boardrooms and halls of power. This emerging class of women and people of color who have access to privilege and power has certainly changed what power “looks like.” But it has done little to address the exploitation of the working poor and the global majority.

Like Slavoj Žižek He defends capitalist exploitation replaces other forms of oppression, such as racial patriarchy.

This is not to deny the impact of racism, patriarchy and all other forms of oppression, but rather to emphasize that capitalist modes of production permeate all these oppressions. We cannot address racism without also addressing capitalist exploitation; Therefore, progressive liberalism’s focus on identity, diversity and recognition serves to distract from the exploitation at the heart of capitalism.

Capitalism’s everyday violence against the working poor is often ignored by progressive liberals who recognize only the more visceral forms of violence emerging from the Far Right. The gradual shrinkage of the working class through precarious employment, lack of affordable housing, and rising costs of living is often ignored by progressive liberals.

Liberals admire Trump and the rise of Fascism because they exist at a safe enough distance in their daily lives to not feel the violence of capitalism; Ignoring the connection between racism and class oppression, they view racism as a problem that affects individuals. As a result, they produce a multicultural free market ideology that is tolerant of different cultures while ignoring capitalist relations of power and domination that emerge along racial lines.

Inside Black Marxism, Cedric J. Robinson‘s analysis of racial capitalism reveals that because capitalism emerged alongside European colonialism, the exploitation of workers was never universal but always divided along color lines. In fact, the emergence of better working conditions in the West has been paid for by the increased exploitation of workers in the global majority.

Multicultural liberalism is coming into its own, seeking to resist the emergence of the Far Right by promoting diversity, inclusion, and cultural understanding. inadequate for the task because it incorrectly identifies the working-class white Christian male as the enemy rather than the capitalist class, which often espouses liberal ideals.

The antidote to the rise of the Far Right has always been working-class solidarity movements. Fascism emerges in times of economic stress to protect the interests of the capitalist class, and what they fear most has always been the collective anger of workers. The division and fear peddled by corporate media and the erosion of unions under neoliberalism speak to their fear of the power of a united workers’ alliance that can transcend national borders and racial divides.

Lancashire Cotton Famine is a powerful reminder of international workers’ solidarity; Textile workers in northern England supported the abolition of slavery in the United States, even though it caused serious hardship for their communities. These workers had probably never met a black person, but out of a sense of Christian brotherhood, they took a principled stand even at the expense of their own economic interests.

Another memorable example is the solidarity between the LGBTIQ community and striking coal miners in Britain. Group Lesbians and Gays Support Miners They raise money and support for mining communities during strike against Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher‘s neoliberal policies.

Although both groups came from very different backgrounds, they developed a strong mutual respect and solidarity through common political struggle. In response, many mining unions later supported LGBTIQ rights campaigns, including supporting gay rights motions at the Labor Party conference.

in Australia, Wave Hill Walkunder the leadership Vincent LingiariIt provides a powerful example of unions, students and non-Indigenous activists working in solidarity with Aboriginal pastoral workers demanding fair wages, a movement that quickly evolved into a powerful claim for land rights.

These are stories we desperately need to remember and retell, because multicultural liberalism has failed to address capitalism’s violence on the lives of the working poor, leaving the door wide open for billionaire-backed grifters on the right to seize control of the narrative.