Privilege theory is a great way to drive the white working class toward the Right. In fact, there are elements of the Right hoping we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot this way. The Right benefits from the Left’s poorly-executed racial dialogue.

Both liberal-capitalist privilege theory, and conservative-capitalist ignorance, divide the working majority.

Conservatism ignores the oppression faced by people of color.

Liberalism ignores the oppression faced by the white working class.

The Left often asserts that being so blunt about this comparability is insensitive to people of color, and that we must be tolerant of identity politics. I think they underestimate the way that soft-peddling on identity politics is extremely alienating to white workers who, all in all, have pretty tough lives too, and who are ruled by the same corporate elite.

In the USA, people of color are more disproportionately poor. At the same time, there is a larger total number of poor white people.

Privilege theory exists in a bubble where the super-wealthy ruling class is never mentioned, or seen as simply one more identity group, instead of recognized as the true masters and beneficiaries of the politico-economic system. The rich are the reason that ghettoes exist.

Liberal privilege theory and conservative ignorance are two sides of the same coin. Instead we need a welcoming, inclusive anti-racism.