Tuesday 14 January 2020

White Lines

I have been a victim of racism. But "white privilege" is something else, a reflection of the American historical experience and not necessarily applicable to Britain.

I am committed to economic equality and to international peace through the democratic political control of the means to those ends. Economic inequality is incompatible with democracy, since it gives the rich far greater political power than the poor, whose votes are thus effectively negated.

In the struggle for the universal good that is economic equality, the leading role belongs to the working class, of which the leading part is the trade union and cooperative movements. In the struggle for the universal good that is international peace, the leading role belongs to the working class and to the youth.

Those struggles are fundamental and integral to each other, and the anti-racist and anti-imperialist struggle, which is indivisible in itself, is fundamental and integral to each and both of them. The class oppression in these Islands goes back to the Norman Conquest, while our particular form of capitalism was shaped by the slave trade, so that they both have racist and imperialist roots.

But slavery did not happen in Britain, whereas it very much did happen in the United States. "Race" is still fundamentally a class indicator there, at least in the most obvious case, whereas that is not the case here. The very fact that Meghan Markle was able to marry Prince Harry illustrates the point.

I will be standing for Parliament again here at North West Durham next time, so please give generously. In any event, please email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com. Very many thanks.

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