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Abstract:
Since the early 1980s, the concept of classism has appeared more and more frequently in the diversity literature, especially in the work of some intersectional theorists. Since there is no standard definition, classism sometimes refers to a class-based prejudice and other times refers to a class-based system of socially structured oppression. Those who employ the concept tend to see the origins of class oppression in an undifferentiated hierarchy of economic inequality as opposed to class conflict that is endemic to capitalism. In fact, those who talk about classism tend to ignore any discussion of capitalism. We argue that little is gained by talking about classism rather than capitalism since classism lacks a coherent analytical base. On the other hand, the Marxist and intersectional insights into capitalism and its intersections with race and gender systems of oppression are lost in discussions of classism.
Keywords: class, classism; race/class/gender; intersectionality; diversity
During the past 25 years, the concept of classism has found its way into the diversity literature. Increasingly, many intersectional scholars are using classism to describe class-based oppression along with the other "isms" of racism, sexism, heterosexism, etc. Yet, classism as a concept has not been well analyzed by those who use it and we are skeptical about whether it adds to an understanding of class oppression or to the intersection of race, class and gender in a world characterized by global capitalism. Class oppression is much more complex than previously understood.
BACKGROUND
Intersectional theorists argue that race, class and gender are interrelated systems of oppression with no single axis being more fundamental than the others. According to Andersen and Collins (2007),
The new framework of race, class, and gender studies . . . explores how race, class, and gender operate together in people's lives. Fundamentally, race, class, and gender are intersecting categories of experience that affect all aspects of human life; thus, they simultaneously structure the experiences of all peoples in this society. At any given moment, race, class, or gender may feel more salient or meaningful in a given person's life, but they are overlapping and cumulative in their effect on people's experience (p. 5).
While intersectionalities developed as a mode of analysis in the 1980s and 1990s, it was a reaction to...