Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else)

Identity politics is being used by elites to close ranks around narrow group interests, but Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò argues that it can be stripped of its political substance and liberatory potential by becoming the victim of elite capture. He advocates for a constructive politics of radical solidarity to organize across differences in the struggle for a better world.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 03 May 2022
Publisher: Pluto Press

Identity politics is pervasive, polarizing discourse from campaign trails to classrooms and exacerbating antagonisms in the media. However, the phrase that is constantly referenced bears little resemblance to the concept initially introduced by the radical Black feminist Combahee River Collective. While the Collective articulated a political perspective rooted in their unique position as Black lesbians, with the explicit goal of fostering solidarity across differences, identity politics has often been wielded as a tool to consolidate support around increasingly narrow notions of group interests.

The problem, as Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò argues, lies not with identity politics itself. Through a rigorous engagement with the global Black radical tradition and a critical analysis of racial capitalism, Táíwò identifies the process by which a radical concept can be stripped of its political essence and liberatory potential by becoming the victim of elite capture. This is deployed by political, social, and economic elites in service of their own interests.

Táíwò's crucial intervention not only elucidates this complex process but also empowers us to transcend the binary of class versus 'race.' By rejecting elitist identity politics in favor of a constructive politics of radical solidarity, he advances the possibility of organizing across our differences in the urgent pursuit of a better world.

Weight: 162g
Dimension: 129 x 197 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780745347851