Both Democrats and Republicans are leaning heavily on the reactionary poison of identity politics in this year’s election.

The capitalist press, backed by social media influencers, are lauding the “historic” potential of Kamala Harris to be the first Black/South Asian woman elected president. The underlying implication is that this would be a “win” for oppressed people in general. In reality, a Harris presidency would merely continue the fundamentally anti-worker and anti-oppressed policies of the Democratic-Republican administrations that have preceded it. It would be a “win” only for Black, Brown, and women millionaires and social-climbing careerists.

Do all oppressed people have the same interests?

Liberals argue that all oppressed people share the same basic interests and insist that “we must listen to marginalized voices.” But does a Black worker toiling for $15 an hour have the same interests as Robert F. Smith, the billionaire owner of Vista Equity and one of the richest Black men on earth? Does a woman struggling to make rent have the same interests as Sue Yannaccone, CEO of the nation’s second largest real estate company? Does a young Indian-American working in an Amazon warehouse have the same interests as ZScaler’s CEO, Jay Chaudhry, who is worth nearly $10 billion?

The class interests of Black workers and Black capitalists are diametrically opposed. The Black bourgeoisie’s main material interest is in bleeding the working class dry, Black workers included. The less workers earn in wages and benefits, the higher their profits. Black workers have more in common with workers of other racial backgrounds than they ever will have with any Black capitalist. In turn, the Black bourgeoisie will always line up with their class counterparts, regardless of color. Harris is a dedicated representative of the capitalist class as a whole and, if elected, will rule in their material interests.

In what way is Kamala representative of “marginalized voices” when she tells Netanyahu that, “I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself, including from … Hamas and Hezbollah.” If she’s commander in chief, will Gazan women be comforted by the fact that a fellow woman is responsible for sending the bombs and bullets that kill them and their children? Clearly not. And yet, this is where the class-collaborationist logic of identity politics leads.

In what way is Kamala representative of “marginalized voices” when she tells Netanyahu that, “I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself, including from … Hamas and Hezbollah.” / Image: Vice President Kamala Harris, X (formerly Twitter)

Identity politics = blackmail

The most desperate proponents of identity politics claim that not voting for Harris is a mark of “privilege.” They say oppressed people don’t have the “luxury” of opposing the “lesser evil” Democrats. But this is actually factually incorrect. Poor and oppressed people are the most likely to abstain from voting. The top reason given is that they don’t feel represented by either party. And they’re right!

Workers who refuse to vote for the billionaires’ parties will be in no way responsible for the outcome of this election. Bourgeois “democracy” is set up so that whichever politician wins, the working class loses. We have no horse in a race to decide who will fund genocides and preside over the further enrichment of the billionaires.

Vance’s cynical “working-class” identity politics

While an army of influencers, media hacks, NGOs, and careerists launch an identity politics blitz to shame people into voting for the Democrats, the Republicans are also leaning on the same reactionary tool.

JD Vance won’t shut up about his personal identity—in a cynical attempt to win sympathy and respect from actual workers. Having grown up in a poor Ohio family, raised by his Appalachian “hillbilly” Mamaw, Vance claims to “know what it’s like” to struggle. This resonates with millions of working-class voters, who are struggling to pay the bills as inflation eats at their incomes.

But it’s been nearly two decades since Vance worked a real job. He’s an Ivy League lawyer, ex-venture capitalist, and protegé of the Trumpite billionaire, Peter Thiel. For Vance, “class” has nothing to do with social relations of production. It is just another identity, wrapped up with “blue-collar” cultural traditions.

In reality, being working class isn’t about country music or pickup trucks; it’s a fact of economic life. We who don’t own factories, land, or corporations must earn our bread and pay the rent by selling our labor power to capitalists, who exploit us and grow rich off our drudgery. The wealth we create above and beyond our wages goes straight into their pockets as profit.

Vance’s politics show the absurdity of his “working-class” credentials. Instead of fighting for unity and solidarity against the capitalist exploiters, Vance is trying to divide and misdirect the anger of our class. He claims American workers are under attack from immigrants. But it’s only the capitalists who benefit from setting native-born workers against their immigrant brothers and sisters. Like Harris, Vance is a representative of the enemy class and should be treated as such.

JD Vance won’t shut up about his personal identity—in a cynical attempt to win sympathy and respect from actual workers. / Image: Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons

Reject the poison!

Workers have a collective interest in fighting the capitalists—both for a greater proportion of the wealth we create and, ultimately, for social ownership of the means of production and control over all society. Anything that divides us along lines of race, gender, nationality, etc., is reactionary. Anything that unites our class and raises its consciousness and confidence is progressive. That’s why Communists reject the poison of identity politics, which threaten to splinter our struggles and corrall us into supporting the capitalist parties. Instead, we stand for class unity, class struggle, and the revolutionary transformation of society. This is the way forward!