[Avoid any references to Trump or US elections in headline and deck]
People of colour have benefited hugely from the progressive politics of the past half-century. From the battle for civil rights in the 1960s to present-day struggles against racist and discriminatory language in the public sphere, progressives have championed the rights of black and brown people, LGBT people and other minorities previously marginalised in western societies. White liberals have played a huge role in these battles, and to them as well as others, I feel a huge debt of gratitude.
But in light of current happenings, I think it is time white leftist-liberals started paying less attention to defending people like me and focused on reconnecting with the white voters, traditionally their base, whom they have lost along the way.
Without wooing back significant sections of white voters, the left will only grow weaker and rightwing populism stronger
This is not masochism, it is self-interested rationality. The progressive movement remains the biggest ally of ethnic minorities, our strongest defenders against the always possible tyranny of a white majority. But a left that lacks the potential for winning elections courts political irrelevance. Political irrelevance would mean the left loses the capability to effectively defend minority rights and fight discrimination.
We can’t ignore numbers in politics. The reality today is that without wooing back significant sections of white voters, (who still have the numbers to decide elections, as we saw in the US with Trump and the UK with Brexit), the left will only grow weaker and rightwing populism stronger.
It is we, the very minorities progressives aim to protect, who would be left with the bulk of the negative consequences if this happens. Ethnic minorities in particular are easily identifiable and can be instantly picked on. Nobody needs a strong left more than ethnic minorities right now. If the price to pay for this is a little less focus on us, and more on poor, frustrated white voters, it is a price worth paying.
I’m not suggesting progressives throw minorities under the bus and cease fighting racial or sexual discrimination, but regular white folk need to see progressives as their defenders too, not just champions of minorities, which is too often the perception many white people have of the “cosmopolitan left”. The left needs much more focus on socioeconomic issues such as inequality and stagnant wages, the stuff that resonates with regular white voters. Of course, it resonates with me too – it’s not as if this would be to switch to an issue which excludes minority interests.
Some of the current anti-immigration sentiments in the west are racially-motivated, but some of it results from exhaustion with the fierce competition neoliberalism has thrived on in recent decades. Some people enjoy competition, but for most it is stressful, exhausting and keeps them on edge. Small wonder many want to restrict movement of labour. If neoliberalism makes everything a competition it should be no surprise that white majorities have come to see newcomers as rivals for jobs and resources.
To me, the Brexit referendum always boiled down to one core question: would Brits opt for less competition from migrants (for jobs, housing, schools etc) by quitting the EU or would they choose the growing socioeconomic competition staying in the EU all but guaranteed? Hardly shocking that when people got the rare opportunity to reduce competition, many willingly grabbed it.
In the US election this week, the biggest voter swing to Trump (16-points), came from those earning less than $30,000 a year, the very group that has to compete with Mexican immigrants for low-skilled jobs. Again, Trump promised them the prospect of less competition from Mexican migrants, via his wall, and they grabbed it. These were voters who backed Obama in 2012 so we should not so readily call them racists.
And anti-immigrant sentiment is not restricted to the west. When black South Africans physically attacked and killed black African migrants in South Africa last year, it wasn’t because they hated them for being black, they hated them for being unwanted competition. “ They are stealing our jobs ”, the South Africans claimed. Sound familiar?
There is no denying a racial aspect to the current rightwing surge in the west and there are well-off white people supporting the likes of Trump or Marine Le Pen in France, but there are probably enough white voters more concerned with economic issues than race, to be able to make the left competitive again if it can woo them back. Many are exhausted by neoliberalism’s “compete or die” approach and are desperate for some respite. The right is currently the only side of the debate offering something tangible, by promising to drastically reduce the competition immigration brings with it.
The left needs to focus more on everyday economic issues, less on identity politics and “celebrating diversity”. Diversity is great. But many white voters need to feel that leftist-liberals care about them as much as the minorities they seek to protect. If I were a straight white plumber from Luton, I don’t think I’d feel that the current leftist elites care much about me or my problems.
It’s not about abandoning minorities, the key is in focusing more emphasis on socioeconomic issues that appeal to a wider range of people. Economic issues don’t just apply to white or black voters – they matter to everyone of every ethnicity, religion or sexuality, majority and minority alike. Political perception is shaped by tone and emphasis. People quickly sense what the issues that really concern you are.
Socioeconomic insecurity is driving a lot of the current animosities and if white people see these being passionately addressed by the left, many will respond positively. I fear without such a shift, in a few years, progressives may simply be too weak to provide any real opposition to rightwing populism and it is us minorities who will suffer the most in such a scenario. So, for now at least, please worry about folk like me a bit less and focus more on those who feel ignored. For the good of us all.
— Guardian News & Media Ltd
Remi Adekoya is Polish-Nigerian. He is the former political editor of the Warsaw Business Journal.
