[was: Re: [PEN-L:8838] Re: Re: Re: s Racism in the Interest of White Workers?]
Maggie Coleman wrote:
> I agree that from an objective position racism is irrational and does not
> provide a long term benefit to anyone -- but, I think that many, many
workers
> (I hesitate to say majority) see that it is in their short term interests to
> practice discrimination.
Racism is irrational and probably even is bad "in the long term" for
capitalists. But it is often quite useful for preserving class rule, in the
short and medium runs, by continuing divisions within the working class.
[Usually, as I understand it, capitalists don't create racism from whole
cloth, though. Instead, they take institutions left from the past and use
them, sometimes reinforcing and deepening them.] Capitalists as individuals
usually don't have the room to move that allows them to think long-term,
which is especially difficult given the uncertainty about anything in the
future. So they go for the short-run effects, even if it's objectively
irrational. But then again, we knew that capitalism is objectively
irrational.
It's true that many workers, especially white ones, see that it is their
short-term interest to practice discrimination. This often has a basis in
fact, since some capitalists form alliances with their elite white workers
(against blacks and other "minorities") because it helps stabilize class
relations in production. However, as Maggie says, it's irrational for
workers in the long term, or rather, in class terms.
Maggie seems to be agreeing with Michael Reich's theory (i.e., that racism
is good for some workers in the short term but bad for the working class in
the long term). I'm confused, since I thought she was criticizing that
view. Maybe I've missed something since I've been staying out of the
discussion of this topic (since Mat said it had already been discussed a
lot on pen-l).
Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~JDevine
