|
|
CLR James rejected the posturing of identity politics
Leonard, Ralph
http://unherd.com/2018/10/clr-james-rejected-posturing-identity-politics/Date Written: 2021-10-11 Publisher: Unherd Year Published: 2018 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX24391 C.L.R. James railed against the superficial nonsense that masquerades as 'anti-racism.' Abstract: - Excerpt: "I denounce European colonialism", wrote CLR James in 1980, "but I respect the learning and profound discoveries of Western civilisation." A Marxist revolutionary and Pan-Africanist, a historian and novelist, an icon of black liberation and die-hard cricket fan, a classicist and lover of popular culture, Cyril Lionel Roberts James, described by V.S Naipaul as "the master of all topics", was one of the great (yet grossly underrated) intellectuals of the 20th century. He was one of the few Leftist intellectuals – as Christopher Hitchens once said about George Orwell – who was simultaneously on the right side of the three major questions of the 20th century: Fascism, Stalinism and Imperialism. But today his praise for ‘Western culture’ would probably be dismissed as a slightly embarrassing residue of a barely concealed 'Eurocentrism'" ... James, though, was, to his core, a radical humanist who believed in the collective power of human beings to transform society and be masters of their own future. He held this fundamental principle throughout his life, above any narrow characteristic such as race, ethnicity, or nationality. While James opposed dogmatic, class-reductionist forms of Marxism that didn't take into account the importance of racist oppression, or were indifferent to the specific struggles of black people for their freedom, he had no time whatsoever for half-baked romantic notions of 'negritude', or essentialist black nationalism. Subject Headings |