ZARAH SULTANA : WHY ANTI-RACISM MUST BE ANTI-CAPITALIST

British Labour MP Zarah Sultana  on why the fight against racism must also be a fight against capitalism.

IT'S EASY to spout platitudes about being anti-racist, but only a socialist analysis explains a system that breeds racism. This analysis tells us that alienation, exploitation, and falling living standards aren’t the fault of any religious or ethnic group, they are the nature of capitalism itself — which is built upon minority rule by the super-rich.

A socialist analysis doesn’t just get to the root of social ills, it also shows us the route to liberation. It reveals that our struggles are linked. My liberation as a Muslim woman is tied to your liberation as a Jewish person and her liberation as a black woman. We’re brought together through shared oppression, united with the global working class. We each have a stake in fighting for the other.

Our opponents seek to divide us, to make us feel alone and without hope. That’s how they win. In the post-Covid world, they will do this with more venom than ever. But we win when we build bonds of solidarity and when we link our struggles.

There is an old socialist slogan, ‘workers of the world, unite!’ It’s not a relic from history, it’s an injunction for today. It calls us to an internationalist approach to socialism, one which can truly tackle racism at its core. It’s a vision worth fighting for.

Extract taken from 'Why Anti-Racism Must be Anti-Capitalist' by Zarah Sultana and published by Tribune. Zarah Sultana is the Labour MP for Coventry South.