With a Little class

Abstract

This article seeks to illuminate the political and ideological implications of identity politics based on racial/ethnic labels currently used in the United States. The salience of politically constructed racial and ethnic identities, and the exclusion of class from legitimate political discourse and common sense understanding of how society works, have undermined the ability of most Americans to understand the root causes of their problems. The solution lies, the author argues, in a conceptualization of identity that is grounded both in cultural difference and common locations in the structures of inequality.