Cornel West stirred up controversy among social justice circles after writing an op-ed critiquing Ta-Nehisi Coates book “We Were Eight Years in Power.” Coates quit twitter after white supremacist Richard Spencer retweeted West saying “he’s not wrong.” It is strange Spencer would even chime in on the issue, but it seems like he read West’s statement of “Ta-Neheisi Coates fetishizes white supremacy” and stopped reading altogether without even glancing at West’s reasoning.
Coates’s school of thought is in line with social justice’s mainstream idea that injustice and inequality stem from an entrenched white patriarchy which can only be dismantled through radical cultural change that cures the individual of harmful biases. The belief is that through reforms at the ground level can end up creating substantive changes at the government and corporate levels. St. Lawrence embodies this philosophy through the narrow lens of fighting biases through actions like policing cultural appropriation and trying to make people hyperaware of privilege. The conversation on privilege always concludes with just maintaining an awareness, but never pursuing direct action other than a Facebook post to show support.
West sees white power differently in his disagreement with Coates sourcing it from “predatory capitalist practices” and “imperial policies.” West’s belief is that neoliberalism and capitalism has created and reinforced harmful biases and power structures. I agree with West’s belief that social inequality can be addressed through focused energy and action against its institutional pillars. West is known as being part of the radial left, but it is confusing that someone who detests the policies of the state would recommend even more government control.
If one believes that we are controlled by a ruling white patriarchy, changing to socialism is the worst possible idea. Every case of a pure socialist state has shown violent repression of minorities and a reinforcement of traditional gender norms. To enforce more state control, violence or the threat of violence must be used. In our current cultural state, men tend to monopolize the use of violence. With less freedom and more control of resources by the state, the white patriarchy would have more means to consolidate power and use corrupt means to enrich themselves.
Solving our problems of inequality will take reforming the governance of capitalism, not throwing it away. Our energy must be focused on political reform that gives marginalized people the ability to gain an equal footing. Ending mass incarceration, police militarization, and the war on drugs will be essential first steps to empowerment. Above all, the players in the capitalist system cannot be allowed to have such immense influence on policy making. When big companies are allowed to use their financial power to practically write the rules by funding lobbyists and interest groups, they create more barriers to entry in order to prevent competition. The lack of entrepreneurial opportunities forces people to be laborers, and thus does not pressure companies to raise wages due to the large labor pool.
The biases we carry are from the institutions that enforce them. Complaining about how Taylor Swift is not an intersectional feminist or how someone committed a micro-aggression will get us nowhere closer to a more equal society. Our efforts must be focused on the sources of inequality instead of taking aimless swings that give us moral satisfaction. I am guilty myself of not pursuing strong enough action for political reform, and I guess I have proved that it is easier to complain than to take action.