Elite Capture: Philosopher Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò on How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics
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- Опубліковано 17 січ 2023
- We speak with philosopher Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, who has recently written two widely acclaimed books: "Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else)" and "Reconsidering Reparations," which focuses in part on the climate crisis. He says identity politics is a concept that was stripped of its radical power to build solidarity and is now weaponized to split people into ever narrower categories that hamper movements for racial and social justice. "Elite capture is what happens when the advantaged few in a group steer the resources and political direction of organizations or movements or parts of our social structure like the justice system toward their narrower interests and aims," Táíwò says.
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A good example of what he's saying is that we're encouraged to celebrate Hakeem Jeffries as the first black Hse Min Leader while ignoring his anti-progressive PAC and the fact that black people in Flint, Michigan still can't get clean drinking water.
My thoughts exactly. TY
Bingo
You are a thinker and exactly right! How do we celebrate HJ when Black people do not have safe drinking water? What year is this again?
@Forrest How do people walk and chew bubble gum at the same time?
Who's gonna stop what they're doing until something unrelated is fixed?
People with a unrealistic view outside of reality...that's who would do something so unproductive.
Cut the BS.
Class consciousness is the most important thing for change. Everytime they throw identity politics at us we need to throw class consciousness back in their face.
no politics, but class politics!
The very fact that they deny the importance of class in politics proves that these bourgeois cosplayers are not left wing.
Yet Amy, more and more , has become mired and enthralled by Identity politics . She swooned over O'Bama's inauguration. She is fooled by third wave , bougie antiracism which is so evacuated of a class analysis.
Great discussion! His books are added to my book list. Thank you.
That guy was on a panel hosted by a CIA front 3 days ago. So yeah, CIA anti capitalism and Black Power.
And can you explain why you’re still conducting an interview from your bedroom/ bathroom?
Right on. Getting to the roots of the problem of “hijacking movements and diversion from causes.
❤ How do the priming patterns not jump out at everyone? I'm always confused about how people can't see. I like what he says about one obstacle being how we communicate. Habermas and his ideal speech situations come to mind. Might be a local community 3rd space goal to create spaces for ideal political speech. Physically is better in my mind, local, but could be online...
Oh my gosh... This almost feels like real conversation...
I also agree with him that we need to focus on building parallel societal structures, because without that you just get another narc that comes along and steers everyone into ruin for personal gain. These 3rd places to provide for actual dialogue could literally be the starting points of these parallel structures in America. Maybe?
The less centralized these groups are the better, local, focused on ideal speech toward concrete local goals.
This man is a a great great role model and hero. He is so young too!
This country is in trouble...
I noticed that 5:20PM on 9/11
Notice in high school local media report ABC NBC reported the same story and ABC had left out a critical point that changed the whole story and I was like they both were at the same news conference why did you leave out this critical point in order to shift the narrative
Thank you for your dedication- and I will be ordering this man's books- thank you Amy Goodman and the Democracy Now team!
If you keep having thinkers like this on I may resubscribe.
It's always been a war between the 99% and the 1%. Any "issues" that divide us further only serve to defeat us.
This. Why should we trust elite institutions to put forward ideological narratives when there existence depends on pandering to wealthy donors who have an imperative to keep us divided. If you think they're just trying to immortalize their name on the side of the building your deluded. What threatens them more? Inclusion, or intersectionalism. We have a left looking to compelling speech and censoring criticism and critical thinking like it's a good idea. These same tools will be used against all of us.
Racism, sexism, and every other ism is just the media and the wealthy not wanting to talk about the real ism, classism.
Identity politics are a great way to make sure nobody is talking about class or making the economy work fairly. The Democrats love every identity, except wage earner.
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Indeed, making society more and more unequal, where now you have jobs recruiting people from a certain 'gender' or 'ethnicity' ONLY (with everyone else excluded REGARDLESS of skills, knowledge, and expertise). Is this 'measure' really going to make society more 'equal' ... It is mind-blowing that the largest 'minority' in society (and growing) that is, older individuals, receive no recognition, media attention, and are basically the very last in the pecking order. How about having a frank conversation about ageism or MERITOCRACY? Thank you for reading; apologies that I will have no time to respond/reply.
Preach Brother!
he ain't our brother
As an African American, he is my brother..
@@tuckerbugeater yes he is
@@tuckerbugeater STFU 🙄😏
@Deborah Tucker That term is being removed. It's been used as a tool of identity politics.
Wow this was educational and alot to think about and consider ?? 🤔 !! It does touch a little bit on Oligarchy but could go even Deeper especially during our current times as Democracy seems to fade away in many places !!!
Wow great interview!
Love this enlightening discussion. Keep up the great work!
This is the best 12 minutes and 23 seconds I've had on UA-cam. Thank you brother 🙏 💙
0:19: The cover of Olúfẹ́mi O.Táíwò's book 'Elite Capture' is awesome., particularly the red letter i being removed and the semiotics it implies. Great work. Keep forward with constructive debate.
could you elaborate on the semiotics? I'm intrigued! thanks!
@@bishaldey5339 Yes. Very superficially...the symbology of the letter i. What i as a letter entails linguistically.
thank you for looking at the actual big picture instead of burdening individuals with fixing corporate and governmental scale problems.
Great job, Olúfẹ́mi. Shining more truth. Thanks DN and staff
The Professor's view echoes a concern I began having around BLM (the movement), where the lack of concise demands for tangible & measurable change worries me no systemic action on root causes will occur. Simply raising awareness is not enough, & the convo around what to then *do* can be more easily derailed.
We must communicate better, in ways that anticipate methods of detractors, & set real goals. This is what made our Civil Rights leaders so incredibly special, & successful.
BLM is a fraud anyway, the founder uses most of that money to get diamond teeth and a mega mansion and none of that money ever goes to help low income people. Ppl are so dumb
@@sew_gal7340 ...please be clear in your charge of fraud; the Org itself, individual leader/s or member/s, or the entire movement using the phrase BLM?
These are not all one in the same (also edited my post to clarify).
@@Krazie-Ivan I'm talking about the founders , you can find more info on this if you looked it up, it was a big thing last year.
@@sew_gal7340 ...read & heard about it via NPR & AP, but also saw very right-wing people attempt to blow it out of proportion in-effort to detract from the movement with disingenuous half-truths, assumptions, & blame-shift.
It's disappointing of an/few individual/s to make poor decisions like this, for sure, & i think the funds should be used to help people in a more concise way. But that could be said & handled w/o divisively using it to dismiss the issue of structural & systemic racism, *if* someone's motives aren't being applied so obviously.
Strawman & whataboutism aren't good-faith debate tactics. Just as not all cops are bad... a singular poor decision does not change the righteousness of the broader BLM cause.
@@Krazie-Ivan That's fine, i dont subscribe to either side,.... i just care about the truth. i think blm is just a distraction for politicians to gain points and have something to harp about then do absolutely nothing to help lower income families (who matter). Having a perspective outside of your echo chamber helps a lot to discern the facts from the nonsense, its one of the only reasons why i watch democracy now for a left perspective and most other independent news source for conservative points of view. i feel its important to see both sides (just my opinion)
Wonderfully lucid and articulate thinker!
Brilliant young brother. Committed to the struggle. Right on. ✊🏽
Being a racial minority, I can fully relate what the guest's assertion about 'elite cspture'. What is ironic is that when ethic groups are voicing out power imbalance between them and the white people they often are being taken lightly without the white people to stand with them to let the former as voice bring heard.
I dont say this often but this guy has a good head on his shoulders, definitely getting his book and looking forward to future publications.
Great break down and identifying and labeling of the old and rebranding systems!💪🏾
7:19 great point, but it will never be discussed here
Everything the professor says makes perfect, and logical sense
Amazing interview! I'm getting his books to my list!
Great guest. Would love to see more guests discussing these issues in a substantive way--e.g., Adolph Reed Jr., Toure Reed, Cedric Johnson, etc.
Agreed, and I think those authors do a better job at looking at history, this isn't a new phenomenon
There is such a thing as a Non-Profit Industrial complex. All of these movements need money to run. They all need political support from within the establishment to get that money. It's a function of the Capitalist class dynamic.
This was really good like the old days Democracy Now
It's never enough. It will never be enough. There are a million different ways to frame success in identity politics. There is no winning here. There is only losing.
Thank you for your excellent in-depth interviews.
I appreciate this interview with such a deep thinker & eloquent speaker!
Added his book to my cart.Greetings from Germany✊🏾
Wow, it's amazing discovering just how much I don't know. Great interview. Wonderful, clear-sighted man.
I loved his episode on RevLeftRadio!!!!
Thanks. Was unaware of rev left radio. I have a bunch of podcasts to catch up with.
@@bpalpha you’re in for a great time!!! There’s some real gems out there!!!
Great pod
Taiwo is brilliant. "Associate" Professor?? I get that he's relatively young, but please don't tell me this man doesn't have tenure.
Associate Professor is the rank one gets with tenure. The level before tenure is Assistant Professor. The final rank is just Professor.
@@arsphoenix1822 Thank you.
Hey Amy, since we're talking about critiques of ID politics, I think it's fair to say that at this point y'all owe Norman Finkelstein an apology.
Thank you 🙏 DN and Olufemi
Brilliant now this guy needs to hook up with Jimmy Dore and Aaron Mate, because he's currently talking about this very thing, how to counter this very effective divide and rule strategy, if talking endlessly about any other divisive thing, rather than people coming together to address the actual issues, which blight their everyday lives
The Divide and Conquer tactics is their best strategy. United we stand. Divided we fall. We must unite for the unification of the African contibent. One Love. One Africa.
I would love to see Taiwo debate John McWhorter. Its easy to hit a ball against a wall, much harder when someone is serving it back......
I heard him talk in person last year at my university. I came away feeling his ideas were just another form of elite capture as well . . .
What exactly do you mean? Can you be more specific?
@@LowestofheDead I guess it's more of an impression than anything, so it's difficult to say exactly what I mean. I clicked on this interview out of curiosity. I wanted to see if the interview format might clear his position up a little. Unfortunately, Taiwo seemed nervous and I don't think he managed to clarify anything. So I can only speak about the talk he gave at the university. But his position, it seems, is that the elite trying to diversify elite spaces prevents actual work on the ground by creating the illusion of progress. Partly, I'm just not sure if that's true. Elite spaces are insular, and they tend to focus on themselves rather than tackling issues like global poverty (i.e. the most marginalized). Real work is done outside of elite spaces. Focusing on elite spaces, as Taiwo does, just enables more distraction, creates more capture. Or rather, he just adds to elite babble. Not surprising since he is an elite himself.
Anyway, have you read his book? Is it interesting?
bingo, he is also raking in foundation money...
@@tbr7921 What foundation money, if you don't mind my asking? I just assumed his position is typical point-counterpoint of academic babbling.
A lot of word salad from professor
Excellent interview.
Wow....🤯. Great convo
For Fact, For Truth, For Justice: Let's add a fourth branch to our government called: THE PEOPLES BRANCH, and let's have this fourth branch allow people a full vote on all pending legislation. That way the politicians will have to pay attention to what we really want.
Not redundant at all. 🤣
@@RJL612 That's right, it would take a major shift. Here is the solution: Any number of states in our union have a "VOTER INITIATIVE" process which allows voters to put a law on the books themselves! We use this process in all 26 states that have it; at the state level. When it works we move for a Constitutional Amendment. We can do it if we show efficacy.
The House of Representative...?
Our government is already bloated with checks & balances, what you really want is a third party that's powerful enough to check the other 2
As a democratic republic we elect representatives based on what they promise to support. We do not have a straight democracy where majority rules.
BLOW THE WHISTLE
Enjoyed listening to this will have to get the book.
It's always Divide that how the powerful wins
Well said , do keep repeating that.
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò: a brilliant gentleman!
Excellent discussion.
I agree with the author. The Government is a capitalist democracy. Although I've had some professors claim it's more of a totalitarian government than a Capitalist Democracy.
Adolph Reed was right all along! Intersectionality is one of the worst expressions of this: hyper individualist, hyper fracturing, treats classism as the issue rather than capitalism, incentivizes more and more sub identities.
Needed Federal Legislation.
Adoption Nullification Act:
Allowing adopted people to have their adoption nullified.
Regardless of their age.
Amilcar Cabral was a brilliant man. First heard of him when I was a junior in undergrad. Return to the Source and Revolution in Guinea are must reads.
WOW!!!Amy You Right At The End Chatted Like Kool G Rap!!!❤❤❤
Purchased his book.
Identity politics, as we know it, have always, for all intents and purposes, been intended "to split people into ever narrower categories that hamper movements for racial and social justice." In terms of practice, at least, what we now call DEI/identity politics have ALWAYS functioned as a proportionalist/accomodationist ploy intended to "represent" traditionally marginalized groups in previously underrepresented spheres of capital production - meaning: DEI/identity politics are not intended to ensure social justice but to procure capital profits. In theory AND practice, they're opposed to political movements, so they're against actual politics and are, therefore, not emancipatory: they just are capitalism. Whether identity "politics" was ever "captured" or "grassroots" or anything but an attempt to subvert working class solidarity (Combahee River Collective's "good intentions" notwithstanding) is debatable, I guess, but not relevant. Identity politics' complete, utter, and easy "cooptation" by neoliberals is proof of its incompetence as anything more than a liberal/subjectivist/capitalist shibboleth. At this point, its concept seems irrecuperable as anything more than another capitalist weapon against social justice and democracy. The only way forward is to go back - to class solidarity. Leave the white, black, and "other" liberal bougies and their DEI/identity politics/cutthroat capitalism behind. As for the critique of DEI/identity politics, Prof. Tawo may be interested to know that the socialists have been making it for YEARS; then again, maybe the Georgetown prof. isn't actually interested.
that's right, socialists have been critiquing identity politics for years. But so have the right...I'm not sure how that squares with the view that this is ultimately all about capitalists co-opting the movement, when the right supposedly represents the rich and business interests. They've actually been pushing hard against "woke culture" and the kind of divisive identity politics on display for a long time now, to the denigration of mainstream media news outlets whilst being completely ignored by democracy now.
The simplest explanation is always the best explanation, because it involves the least amount of variables and hypotheticals. We don't need to invent any kind of claim involving co-option. identity politics was always just a bad idea, and critical race theory was an even worse extension of that. And in a blind effort to appear noble and supporting of twitter trends, or perhaps out of a genuine desire to do good, corporations blindly followed what people on twitter and leftist professors claimed was the path forward for racial equality, supported now by equally blind members in government and education as well. But the diversity training seminars and focus on white privilege ultimately ended up guilt tripping and harming too many innocent people, and now we are realizing what a horribly, racially divisive mistake it was.
At this point I don't care too much if the right wins, just because they are the only ones actually fighting to shut down this toxic movement
@@radscorpion8 The right are the only ones fighting against identity politics? BULLSHIT. The right (from an American sense) LOVES identity politics- that is- White identity politics. If you pay any attention to the right wing media pipeline be it from their corporate arms of Fox News or OAN or the copy-paste angry white guy online a la Tim Pool, The Quartering, Crowder, etc. the overarching theme of their rhetoric is "White people need to band together against the "other" (blacks, immigrants, etc.) in order to stay alive and in control." Their anti-IDP rhetoric only applies to people who aren't White. Not a single one of them will ever call for racial solidarity against capital.
The right doesn't give a single fuck about class struggle either. The only time they ever push back against corporations is when they "go woke," but will clap like barking seals when those same corporations call in the police to beat up workers trying to unionize. To put it bluntly, the right is too stupid to understand that corporate "wokeness" is nothing more than moral lip service. Companies will say nice things about "diversity" and "inclusion" and then do nothing to take those initiatives. The right only looks at the WORDS and not the direct ACTIONS taken by the companies. They'll wine about how every company is being pro-environment and completely miss the fact that the energy industry only invested 1% of all its income in renewable energy. They spent more money advertising how green they were than actually doing it because doing so would cost more money than they'd ever want to spend.
Don't mistake this rant as me saying that the Dems or pop-liberals are any better or something like that. The Democrats are a center-right neo-liberal party that only cares about making money with the Republicans. They both bicker on the Washington floor in front of the cameras, but then laugh and toast together behind closed doors when their Wall Street investment money flows into their grimy pockets.
EXCELLENT!!!
Thank you
This is what the author misses: the elite did not capture any of this. They created it. They’ve had a long time doing such things since the French revolution.
Mostly, do you have a situation where one elite group tries to get power from the dominant elite group and then they end up coming together to form a consensus “unified“ situation. The people that they purport to be helping never ask for their help, never appointed them to leader ship in any protest movement, and is never included in any decisions where the fake protest ends up, getting co-opted and funded by the elites in power .
Great to have a professor who talks about the circularities, or cybernetic factors in these struggles about information and conversation.
We need to find positive ways like shown below about the breakout from the Pavlov, to get into the pure mechanics that are being used.
In other words, we should avoid disruptive tactics of the "Saul Alinsky" type.
The Divide has become viral and cybernetic, people have become tempted to do it on their own, with some neopuritan "holier than thou" attitude, that is eventually supremacist itself.
This sounds really interesting but I don't understand any of it.
It sounds like you're saying this:
"It's good that Olufemi Taiwo talks about how the media affects our political conversations. The media can give us knee-jerk reactions to conversations like we're trained animals. We should avoid these systems of power completely, instead of just asking them to stop like Saul Alinsky did via protest."
"Elite Capture" - World Economic Forum
F-Democracy Now! Proud Bronx Latino!
Wow I just ordered the books online. 📚
Haven't read any of his books yet but I'll be sure to get them. Proud to see his name properly written. That alone tells me he knows his roots and isn't about to lose himself in another's narrative.
LOVE YOU AMY
Yes and yes
He is on fire 🔥
Wars, Walls & Weapons..
This is America.
Thanks for the book Brother. The biggest Blessing is that nothing that “they” do is going to stop God’s Redemption of his systematically “oppressed” Black Children who will usher in the New Kingdom that brings in true justice & peace. 🙏🏿👏🏾
Some blks sold their people and participated in human atrocities. There is no redemption for a failed business deal.
@@sandrasteele976 Who taught you that, the conqueror? 🧐😯😛
@@sandrasteele976 Black Africans we’re already colonized by Europeans before the first Enslaved African left the continent. I bet you were never taught that. 😯🤭
@@sandrasteele976 Because you all are to Evil, Arrogant, and Prideful (Proverbs 8:13) to REPENT you are meeting Gods raft. Check your birthrates. 🙏🏿👏🏾
@@sandrasteele976 Have you learned how to get rid of European body lice yet? 😳😯
The part about identity politics 🔥
Loved the discussion and the ending with the naming of all contributors to the show in warp drive is hilarious
Black and Brown unity for better living.
"BLOW THE WHISTLE AROUND THE WORLD 🌎 CAMPAIGN
Love all the data and numbers he shared to support his argument.
It is pretty clear this guy is a living example of elite capture.
Not once did he use the words "power" or "violence".
this should be mandatory reading in florida schools
Its not a simple redistribution,, small businesses need to proliferate over massive all encompassing corporation,, no business should be big enough to crush even the spirit of competition
Identity politics have NEVER been the grounds for revolutionary transformation.
Stop saying Black and brown, as we are separate groups of people with different issues.
Handsome Professor
finally a based guest thank you
Hello beautiful how are you doing
Believe THAT!!!👏👏👏😎🎯🎯🎯
Facts!
🌹🌹
Great to see Left leaning critique of identity politics and Wokeism.
Yes
I don't understand how this is philosophy though. The definition of philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. I think philosophy has been appropriated by the media and academia. This guy is talking about society, perhaps he's an intellectual, or sociologist or a historian. But philosophers talk about the individual human experience. Philosophers don't really say what society should do because any philosopher recognizes society or a country as a concept we invented. They speak to the individual and what the individual can do to be free of society. Not how society can change to make the individual more comfortable or equatable. It's hard enough for one person to change much less an entire society, so even just for efficiency purpose a philosopher rarely talks about society as a whole, and mainly as a reflection to the individual and its influence on the individual, but almost never in terms of how the group can change to affect the individual. People might say what about Karl Marx, or similar people. I would say that Marx was more of an intellectual. His "philosophy" was an amalgam of social, political, and economic theory versus a philosophy about the self.
It is Philosophy. Have you ever heard of Political/ Socio-Political Philosophy? His issues are under that. For some reason your understanding of Philosophy is stuck with the Ancient Greeks and Existentialism when it's beyond that.
BLOW THE WHISTLE AROUND THE WORLD 🌎 THE DAVIS BROTHERS LUMBER CO LTD ANSLEY LA
Another way for the rich and powerful to divide and conquer.
In the analogy, who is the parallel enemy to the Portuguese colonialists, and who is included in the opposition coalition?
ESG - no its all about control.
Exactly Why The Egyptian Empire Fell To The Romans!!!💯
Identity politics is all the modern Democratic Party has to offer.
I wish you were wrong!
Where is the fostering and propagation of the antithesis of 'Elite culture' among us on the Left? Why still no calling on the people to give themselves a 'domestic peace dividend'? What good is a 'War and Peace Report' if you are not encouraging peace among the people, here in the communities, in which we live? Isn't the level of violence and crime in general here, enough an absence of peace, to merrit attention?
Thank you for featuring a Black thinker from the USA! Whew!
Remember when Democracy Now! was captured by Elites? I do!
I feel so bad that any black person is still experiencing injustice bc of being a black person. You are Gods creation and as goo d as any white person, The Prejudices against you is due to ignorance and don’t know God. We are to love all mankind regardless of race or color.
Femi! Woot woot!
It's all about the controlling of the narrative. Dividing people always works in favor of the elites. Cuba helping the independence of African countries of course never became a narrative here.