Class reductionism

Class reductionism is an epithet used to describe social theories that emphasize the role of the exploitation of labour along the lines of social classes in creating societal inequality, over all other social divisions and forms of oppression, such as racism or sexism. It is also used to describe political policies and strategies that prioritize broad economic reform to the exclusion of addressing issues facing specific minorities.^[1][2] The term is most commonly used in the context of Marxist theory and critiques thereof.

Description

Class reductionism is disparagingly used to describe theoretical and political frameworks that prioritize the significance of class relations over all other societal hierarchies. The term is used to criticize theories, policies or strategies that neglect to directly address racism, sexism or other social oppressions in favor of broad economic policies that are targeted at addressing the working class as a whole. Critics of class reductionism claim that this approach sidelines people, particularly working-class people, who want to take up the fight against other oppressions more directly, and fragments political movements on the Left as a consequence.^[2] Class reductionism has been described as being opposed to identity politics and postmodernism.^[3] The term has also been used to describe Marxist theory as a whole.^[4]

Adolph Reed claims that class reductionism is a "myth", accusing those who use the term of instead engaging in "race reductionism".^[1][5]

See also

• Economism
• Intersectionality
• Producerism
• Reductionism
• Welfare chauvinism

References

1. Reed, Adolph (2020-05-14). "Socialism and the Argument against Race Reductionism". New Labor Forum. 29 (2): 36–43. doi:10.1177/1095796020913869. ISSN 1095-7960. S2CID 219429466.
2. Cunningham, Frank (1986-07-01). "Marxism and Class Reductionism". Philosophie et Culture: Actes du XVIIe congrès mondial de philosophie. 1: 267–287. doi:10.5840/wcp171986138. ISBN 2-920449-10-9.
3. Cox, Ronald W. (2020). "A Left Critique of Class Reductionism". Class, Race and Corporate Power. 8 (2). doi:10.25148/CRCP.8.2.009645. ISSN 2330-6297. JSTOR 48644424. S2CID 244611771.
4. Allahar, Anton L. (2014-09-02). "Marxist or not? Oliver Cromwell Cox on capitalism and class versus "race"". Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revue canadienne des études latino-américaines et caraïbes. 39 (3): 420–444. doi:10.1080/08263663.2014.1013289. ISSN 0826-3663. S2CID 146710362.
5. Reed, Adolph. "The Myth of Class Reductionism". The New Republic. Retrieved 18 January 2023.