The Perils of Universalism

Casaey argues that a central feature of the current wave of right-wing populism and authoritarianism has been attacks on democratic citizenship, with a particular targeting of the rights of racial "others." Criticisms of "identity politics" that call for "universal" appeals to citizenship and class (as opposed to race) are troubling responses to the current crisis, as they elide the central role race plays in who we consider "citizens" and "workers"; in doing so, they also miss the racial politics at the center of contemporary attacks on citizenship. Explicitly anti-racist politics must be at the center of a left politics.