This is a genuine question, and maybe I'm overlooking something obvious, or perhaps deviating from the main topic, so let me know if I am: if white privilege really is a significant systemic problem, and I'm not saying it is or is not, then why is it that Asian americans (i.e. those of chinese, japanese, vietnamese, korean etc descent), lead all other ethnic groups, including white, in terms of education and median household income?
A significant proportion of asian people are also hired to work in scientific research, and top tech and communications companies.
Asian students are even required to get higher SAT scores than other ethnic groups to get into elite schools, yet are still the most successful demographic in terms of higher qualifications, proportionately.
Where is the white privilege which is oppressing people of asian descent (apart from having to get higher SAT scores than other groups to get into harvard)?
That being said, I think this new wave of identity politics is not useful for anyone. It divides and doesn't unite, by mentally conditioning people to see everything through the lens of race and gender. It's a zero-sum game.
Why can't we just treat people as people instead of constantly having to think about the racial or gender power dynamics of situations, like academia and increasingly the mainstream media, have been conditioning the populace to do?
However, I understand the value of trying to understand the world from other people's perspective, and of learning to check one's ego and its illusions, and question one's motivations in anything. Racism is just a symptom, and the disease is the nearly universal belief in humans that the ego really exists and has huge importance and all its pretentions to power must be satisfied.
Maybe I'm totally off with these remarks, and I'm bringing inherent biases and assumptions of which I'm not aware, in which case feel free to criticize or correct me.
I would also like to know what the OP understands by 'meaningful progress'.
money and the power that comes with it is 100% more destructive to humans evoluing and making this world better for all. I have been at companies where the "head honchos" had private elevators from their heated parking to their office, while the rest of us had a parking ramp and had to walk throught the cold to get to the building. Bonuses , stock options, private jets, limos, yep the works while we got 2% raises and the cost of benefits went up. for us it did NOT matter what color of skin, what language you spoke, nope did not matter. One was with the ahves or have nots period.
This is where the real issues lie, I feel.
I think that pure capitalism, especially crony capitalism and neoliberalism, is incompatible with real democracy and social progress.
Even though human nature is already corrupted and deficient, I feel that capitalism brings out the worst in it.
I'm not saying it should be gotten rid of totally, but a possible direction is something like the scandinavian welfare state system, with a mixed economy and highly unionized workforce.
Astonishing inequalities, lack of opportunities for any person near the bottom of the socioeconomic scale, the callous treatment of the poor, meaningless work.
These are all functions of extreme financial liberalization in an increasingly globalized world.
Offshoring of companies, social dumping, transnational virtual senates of investors and lenders which have huge leverage over national government policies through the control of capital flow, all contributing to undermine the power and incomes and job opportunities of the lower classes, regardless of ethnicity.
Identity politics is a diversion from this, I feel.
I tend to agree with richard wolff that the workplace itself needs to be democratized through worker self-directed enterprises (WSDEs).
Link to an article
here if anyone is interested in reading more.
