Outline of a Critique of Black Nationalism

 

  1. Black Nationalism, first and foremost, is a political philosophy centered on race, that denies the central importance of class. This is not to say that Black Nationalism completely denies class; it does indeed recognize it, but for the Black Nationalist, class is not the basis of their struggle, it is, rather, a side note. The central position of the black nationalist struggle is held by race. Therefore, to the black nationalist, the proletarian is not the revolutionary subject inherently; it is, rather, the black individual, due to his racial relations to white society, who is the revolutionary subject.

  2. As a critical tool against capitalism, black nationalism fails in this regard, for it is perfectly possible for the aims of the black nationalist to, in theory, be achieved, alongside the preservation of capitalism. This is because capitalism is by nature a system of great flexibility; it is able to adapt to nearly any and all conditions. In fact, constant change is not only possible under capitalism, but necessary, for, as Marx and Engels wrote, “the bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the means of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society.” (The Communist Manifesto).

  3. As such, Black Nationalism, along with all other race based struggles (including right wing populist struggles), are easy prey for the opportunists of the bourgeois, who will, if given the chance, eagerly seize them and take them under their wing in order to direct them to ends that benefit them and not the movement. This was seen clearly with the most recent of such movements, Black Lives Matter, which was quickly pounced upon by opportunists from all sides of the bourgeoisie, and quickly rendered harmless. It is for these reasons that a politics centered around race is simply not capable of effectively attacking capitalist dominion. 

  4. Not only that, but politics centered around race very often leads to creation of quasi supremacist racial groups on the side of the oppressed group, which not only lessens class consciousness, destroys inter-racial solidarity, and leads to internal conflict amongst the proletariat (one needs only look to what has become of the Nation of Islam to see this in action). It leads to consciousness based in race, and not consciousness based in class. This is the opposite of what must be achieved, and such ends must be fought against by any means.

  5. Lastly, but certainly not least, Black Nationalism lacks the firm universality of class based politics, Where in Marxism proper the revolutionary subject is by nature universal (that is, anyone can be apart of it, as long as they do not possess means of production through which they exploit labor), this is not the case with Black Nationalism. Black Nationalism posits, in direct opposition to the universality of Marxism, a firm particularity (exclusivity) based in race; that is, it posits a struggle which is particular to a group of people with essential qualities which are unchanging, and thus can never hope to rise to the level of a universal struggle.

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