Overview

In the United States there have been brilliant examples of anti-racist struggle—black soldiers in the Civil War, coal miners of Alabama, and especially the anti-racist working-class struggles led by the Communist Party. Yet racism persists: Jim Crow replaced racial slavery, and mass incarceration has replaced Jim Crow. Why? Paul Gomberg argues that racism is functional for capitalism, supplying low-wage, vulnerable labor and driving down conditions for all workers. How can anti-racists put an end to racist society? Gomberg argues for race-centered Marxism: anti-racism must lead working-class struggle, but racism will end only in a communist society that creates opportunity for all.

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9781350257979

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Reviews

In equal parts history, political analysis, and philosophy, Paul Gomberg’s Anti-Racism as Communism forcefully argues the thesis adumbrated in its title: the transcendence of race and racism can be achieved only in a society organized around the abolition of capital and the institution of egalitarian social relations. While the book bristles with valuable information about capitalist practices of divide-and-conquer, as well as about past Communist successes in building class-conscious multiracial solidarity, this historical background functions primarily to ground Professor Gomberg’s keen critical analysis of different schemas for understanding what racism is—and is not. Arguing that the great majority of non-elite whites are also hurt by the racism more grievously inflicted on black and other “minority” populations, he concludes, “We cannot bring about racial equality without addressing non-racial inequality.” This provocative book is premised upon a profoundly ethical conception of what communism entails. -- Barbara Foley, Rutgers University, US

In equal parts history, political analysis, and philosophy, Paul Gomberg’s Anti-Racism as Communism forcefully argues the thesis adumbrated in its title: the transcendence of race and racism can be achieved only in a society organized around the abolition of capital and the institution of egalitarian social relations. While the book bristles with valuable information about capitalist practices of divide-and-conquer, as well as about past Communist successes in building class-conscious multiracial solidarity, this historical background functions primarily to ground Professor Gomberg’s keen critical analysis of different schemas for understanding what racism is—and is not. Arguing that the great majority of non-elite whites are also hurt by the racism more grievously inflicted on black and other “minority” populations, he concludes, “We cannot bring about racial equality without addressing non-racial inequality.” This provocative book is premised upon a profoundly ethical conception of what communism entails. -- Barbara Foley, Rutgers University, US Should oppressed Black Americans hope for a future without the burden of Blackness—absent the idea of race itself? Anti-racism as Communism insists that the only hope for a future unburdened by the dehumanization, alienation, and capitalist exploitation of the past depends on the ability of whites and Blacks to reformulate anti-racism towards communism. Through rigorous historiography, philosophical argumentation, and a welcomed compassion for the poor, the Black, and the downtrodden, Gomberg provokes philosophers and theorists alike to reject an inter-racial model of racism conducted primarily by whites for a racial harm model implicating Black elites and Black state agents for their role in the oppression of all Black Americans. This provocative text rightfully demands the attention of all scholars thinking about anti-Black racism in the United States and beyond. -- Tommy J. Curry, The University of Edinburgh, UK

In equal parts history, political analysis, and philosophy, Paul Gomberg’s Anti-Racism as Communism forcefully argues the thesis adumbrated in its title: the transcendence of race and racism can be achieved only in a society organized around the abolition of capital and the institution of egalitarian social relations. While the book bristles with valuable information about capitalist practices of divide-and-conquer, as well as about past Communist successes in building class-conscious multiracial solidarity, this historical background functions primarily to ground Professor Gomberg’s keen critical analysis of different schemas for understanding what racism is—and is not. Arguing that the great majority of non-elite whites are also hurt by the racism more grievously inflicted on black and other “minority” populations, he concludes, “We cannot bring about racial equality without addressing non-racial inequality.” This provocative book is premised upon a profoundly ethical conception of what communism entails. -- Barbara Foley, Rutgers University, US Should oppressed Black Americans hope for a future without the burden of Blackness—absent the idea of race itself? Anti-racism as Communism insists that the only hope for a future unburdened by the dehumanization, alienation, and capitalist exploitation of the past depends on the ability of whites and Blacks to reformulate anti-racism towards communism. Through rigorous historiography, philosophical argumentation, and a welcomed compassion for the poor, the Black, and the downtrodden, Gomberg provokes philosophers and theorists alike to reject an inter-racial model of racism conducted primarily by whites for a racial harm model implicating Black elites and Black state agents for their role in the oppression of all Black Americans. This provocative text rightfully demands the attention of all scholars thinking about anti-Black racism in the United States and beyond. -- Tommy J. Curry, The University of Edinburgh, UK Paul Gomberg has given us a path-breaking book that combines historical narrative, social explanation and political advocacy. It is at once a historical account of how the hyper-exploitation of black workers in American capitalism has made white as well as black workers worse off; a recounting of how the Communist Party recognised this fact and made anti-racism and black leadership essential to its trade-union organising in the early 20th century; a rejection of the concept of 'white supremacy' in favour of a class-based understanding of racial injustice today; an argument that to act effectively against racial injustice we must all distance ourselves from our own racial identities; and an articulation of a race-centred Marxism for which communism is the only way to end racial injustice and anti-racism the only way to communism. This is a book that should be read by everyone concerned with the interactions between race and capitalism in the modern world. -- Andrew Chitty, University of Sussex, UK One of the most engaging recent books to come out on the philosophy of race, the politics of Marxism, and the practice of anti-racism. Gomberg takes a giant step over the tired ‘race’ versus ‘class’ debate to remind us of the glorious history of left-wing anti-racism and, more importantly, to recover its theory and practice today. Written with compelling precision and clarity, the book explains how to recognize the reality of racism while rejecting racial identity. Gomberg practices what he preaches. The depth of insight and range of learning comes from a philosopher who has been thinking about racism, freedom and equality for decades. The conviction and commitment reflect an activist who has been involved in anti-racist, communist struggle for even longer. I am convinced that true anti-racism is possible only from the universalistic standpoint Gomberg offers: racism harms us all, therefore we all have an interest in eradicating it at its source. Gomberg invites us to understand racism as a way of organizing and managing the inequality that capitalist exploitation relies on. That is why, as Gomberg puts it, “the only alternative to racism is a communist society where we flourish together by contributing to one another’s flourishing.” That is a vision that can inspire a movement large enough to overcome the political structures that support racism and human exploitation. Gomberg inspired me. Of immense interest and sure to provoke strong reactions, everyone should read this book. -- Alex Gourevitch, associate professor of political science at Brown University and author of From Slavery to the Cooperative Commonwealth Paul Gomberg’s book ought to be read by all who are concerned with ending racism in our world. In this courageous book that goes off the beaten path, Gomberg asks us to get beyond the usual and take seriously the radical but more effective alternative to be found in Marxism and Communism and makes a compelling case with serious argumentation and historical details. -- Olufemi Taiwo, Cornell University, USA Drawing on history, contemporary struggles, and the work of Black Marxists, Paul Gomberg argues that successful anti-racism must be communist, and that successful communism must centrally be anti-racist. Provocative and insightful, Anti-Racism as Communism has much to offer all anti-racists, regardless of one’s own view of the connection between race and class. A must-read book for anyone concerned with racial injustice. -- Lidal Dror, Princeton University, USA

In equal parts history, political analysis, and philosophy, Paul Gomberg’s Anti-Racism as Communism forcefully argues the thesis adumbrated in its title: the transcendence of race and racism can be achieved only in a society organized around the abolition of capital and the institution of egalitarian social relations. While the book bristles with valuable information about capitalist practices of divide-and-conquer, as well as about past Communist successes in building class-conscious multiracial solidarity, this historical background functions primarily to ground Professor Gomberg’s keen critical analysis of different schemas for understanding what racism is—and is not. Arguing that the great majority of non-elite whites are also hurt by the racism more grievously inflicted on black and other “minority” populations, he concludes, “We cannot bring about racial equality without addressing non-racial inequality.” This provocative book is premised upon a profoundly ethical conception of what communism entails. -- Barbara Foley, Rutgers University, US Should oppressed Black Americans hope for a future without the burden of Blackness—absent the idea of race itself? Anti-racism as Communism insists that the only hope for a future unburdened by the dehumanization, alienation, and capitalist exploitation of the past depends on the ability of whites and Blacks to reformulate anti-racism towards communism. Through rigorous historiography, philosophical argumentation, and a welcomed compassion for the poor, the Black, and the downtrodden, Gomberg provokes philosophers and theorists alike to reject an inter-racial model of racism conducted primarily by whites for a racial harm model implicating Black elites and Black state agents for their role in the oppression of all Black Americans. This provocative text rightfully demands the attention of all scholars thinking about anti-Black racism in the United States and beyond. -- Tommy J. Curry, The University of Edinburgh, UK Paul Gomberg has given us a path-breaking book that combines historical narrative, social explanation and political advocacy. It is at once a historical account of how the hyper-exploitation of black workers in American capitalism has made white as well as black workers worse off; a recounting of how the Communist Party recognised this fact and made anti-racism and black leadership essential to its trade-union organising in the early 20th century; a rejection of the concept of 'white supremacy' in favour of a class-based understanding of racial injustice today; an argument that to act effectively against racial injustice we must all distance ourselves from our own racial identities; and an articulation of a race-centred Marxism for which communism is the only way to end racial injustice and anti-racism the only way to communism. This is a book that should be read by everyone concerned with the interactions between race and capitalism in the modern world. -- Andrew Chitty, University of Sussex, UK

In equal parts history, political analysis, and philosophy, Paul Gomberg’s Anti-Racism as Communism forcefully argues the thesis adumbrated in its title: the transcendence of race and racism can be achieved only in a society organized around the abolition of capital and the institution of egalitarian social relations. While the book bristles with valuable information about capitalist practices of divide-and-conquer, as well as about past Communist successes in building class-conscious multiracial solidarity, this historical background functions primarily to ground Professor Gomberg’s keen critical analysis of different schemas for understanding what racism is—and is not. Arguing that the great majority of non-elite whites are also hurt by the racism more grievously inflicted on black and other “minority” populations, he concludes, “We cannot bring about racial equality without addressing non-racial inequality.” This provocative book is premised upon a profoundly ethical conception of what communism entails. -- Barbara Foley, Rutgers University, US Should oppressed Black Americans hope for a future without the burden of Blackness—absent the idea of race itself? Anti-racism as Communism insists that the only hope for a future unburdened by the dehumanization, alienation, and capitalist exploitation of the past depends on the ability of whites and Blacks to reformulate anti-racism towards communism. Through rigorous historiography, philosophical argumentation, and a welcomed compassion for the poor, the Black, and the downtrodden, Gomberg provokes philosophers and theorists alike to reject an inter-racial model of racism conducted primarily by whites for a racial harm model implicating Black elites and Black state agents for their role in the oppression of all Black Americans. This provocative text rightfully demands the attention of all scholars thinking about anti-Black racism in the United States and beyond. -- Tommy J. Curry, The University of Edinburgh, UK Paul Gomberg has given us a path-breaking book that combines historical narrative, social explanation and political advocacy. It is at once a historical account of how the hyper-exploitation of black workers in American capitalism has made white as well as black workers worse off; a recounting of how the Communist Party recognised this fact and made anti-racism and black leadership essential to its trade-union organising in the early 20th century; a rejection of the concept of 'white supremacy' in favour of a class-based understanding of racial injustice today; an argument that to act effectively against racial injustice we must all distance ourselves from our own racial identities; and an articulation of a race-centred Marxism for which communism is the only way to end racial injustice and anti-racism the only way to communism. This is a book that should be read by everyone concerned with the interactions between race and capitalism in the modern world. -- Andrew Chitty, University of Sussex, UK One of the most engaging recent books to come out on the philosophy of race, the politics of Marxism, and the practice of anti-racism. Gomberg takes a giant step over the tired ‘race’ versus ‘class’ debate to remind us of the glorious history of left-wing anti-racism and, more importantly, to recover its theory and practice today. Written with compelling precision and clarity, the book explains how to recognize the reality of racism while rejecting racial identity. Gomberg practices what he preaches. The depth of insight and range of learning comes from a philosopher who has been thinking about racism, freedom and equality for decades. The conviction and commitment reflect an activist who has been involved in anti-racist, communist struggle for even longer. I am convinced that true anti-racism is possible only from the universalistic standpoint Gomberg offers: racism harms us all, therefore we all have an interest in eradicating it at its source. Gomberg invites us to understand racism as a way of organizing and managing the inequality that capitalist exploitation relies on. That is why, as Gomberg puts it, “the only alternative to racism is a communist society where we flourish together by contributing to one another’s flourishing.” That is a vision that can inspire a movement large enough to overcome the political structures that support racism and human exploitation. Gomberg inspired me. Of immense interest and sure to provoke strong reactions, everyone should read this book. -- Alex Gourevitch, associate professor of political science at Brown University and author of From Slavery to the Cooperative Commonwealth Paul Gomberg’s book ought to be read by all who are concerned with ending racism in our world. In this courageous book that goes off the beaten path, Gomberg asks us to get beyond the usual and take seriously the radical but more effective alternative to be found in Marxism and Communism and makes a compelling case with serious argumentation and historical details. -- Olufemi Taiwo, Cornell University, USA Drawing on history, contemporary struggles, and the work of Black Marxists, Paul Gomberg argues that successful anti-racism must be communist, and that successful communism must centrally be anti-racist. Provocative and insightful, Anti-Racism as Communism has much to offer all anti-racists, regardless of one’s own view of the connection between race and class. A must-read book for anyone concerned with racial injustice. -- Lidal Dror, Princeton University, USA While a great deal of work in the philosophy of race centers on whiteness, Paul Gomberg offers an alternative by amplifying the significance of capitalism and class analysis respecting race. -- John H. McClendon, Michigan State University, USA Paul Gomberg offers a powerful left challenge to the current direction of the philosophy of race, with its fetishism of whiteness, white privilege and racial constructivism. The great strength of the philosophy of race has been placing race and racism on the philosophical table. However, its greatest limitation has been its neglect of class, class interest, class struggle and the political economy of capitalism as it relates to race and racism. Gomberg offers us a philosophical step in the right direction. Gomberg provides us with a meaty historico-philosophical argument: capitalism is the material condition for the emergence and reproduction of racism. -- Stephen C. Ferguson, North Carolina State University, USA Those who oppose human emancipation have long taken heed that a consistent stance against racism seems necessarily to lead one to radically anti-capitalist—indeed, communist—theory and practice. Gomberg’s engagingly written, meticulously researched, and closely argued book makes the case that it is well past time for all who seek human freedom to notice the same and build our struggles accordingly. In theorizing anti-racism as communism, Gomberg shows that a successful movement to abolish racism can only be one that also seeks to abolish economic domination and foster real, universal human freedom in its stead. -- Vanessa Wills, The George Washington University, USA

Author Information

Paul Gomberg retired as Professor of Philosophy at Chicago State University, where he taught for twenty-nine years. He is currently Research Associate in the Philosophy department at the University of California at Davis. He is the author of How to Make Opportunity Equal: Race and Contributive Justice (2007) and has participated in fifty years of anti-racist activism.

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