EP: 640: THE PSEUDO PROGRESSIVE POLITICS OF WHITE PRIVILEGE ft. CEDRICK SIMMONS & HADASS SILVER

Introduction   When we talk about “white privilege,” does renouncing it close the racial wealth gap or liberate people of color from systemic oppression? Will it dismantle mass incarceration or challenge the roots of racialized poverty? Or does this discourse obscure the deeper class antagonisms that undergird capitalism itself? Today, we’ll explore what’s often missed in these discussions: how the focus on white privilege detracts from a collective fight against the structures of capital, reinforcing economic inequalities and diverting attention from solidarity-building across racial lines.   In her essay *Inventing 'White Privilege': Pseudo-Progressivism in American Political Discourse Hadass Silver critiques how “white privilege” rhetoric serves to reproduce, rather than challenge, class exploitation. This discussion will critically examine the five main facets of "white privilege" discourse: (1) greater access to material resources, (2) the enjoyment of rights without discrimination, (3) the dominant culture as a normative standard, (4) racial superiority, and (5) not being discriminated against.   Silver highlights that while these elements of privilege may describe real disparities, they fail to address the root cause of social stratification—capitalism itself. As Silver argues, “privilege rhetoric perpetuates a hyper-focus on identity and obscures the material conditions that shape inequality, class exploitation, and the functioning of capital”. By focusing on perceived privilege, we obscure the real mechanisms of exploitation that affect all working-class people—Black, Brown, and white. This framing, as Silver emphasizes, is “anti-solidaristic,” driving a wedge between potential allies in the struggle for a more egalitarian society. Check out our new bi-weekly series, "The Crisis Papers" here: https://www.patreon.com/bitterlakepresents/shop Thank you guys again for taking the time to check this out. We appreciate each and everyone of you. If you have the means, and you feel so inclined, BECOME A PATRON! We're creating patron only programing, you'll get bonus content from many of the episodes, and you get MERCH!   Become a patron now https://www.patreon.com/join/BitterLakePresents?   Please also like, subscribe, and follow us on these platforms as well, (specially YouTube!)   THANKS Y'ALL   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG9WtLyoP9QU8sxuIfxk3egTwitch: www.twitch.tv/thisisrevolutionpodcastwww.twitch.tv/leftflankvets​Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thisisrevolutionpodcast/Twitter: @TIRShowOaklandInstagram: @thisisrevolutionoakland   Read Jason Myles in Sublation Magazine https://www.sublationmag.com/writers/jason-myles   Read Jason Myles in Damage Magazine https://damagemag.com/2023/11/07/the-man-who-sold-the-world/   Pascal Robert's Black Agenda Report: https://www.blackagendareport.com/author/Pascal%20Robert