The 'Jacketgate' scandal, which has seen Green co-leader Metiria Turei being pulled up for her 'opulent' dress sense, is revealing of the interplay of class and identity politics in New Zealand. To an old-fashioned leftist, this would seem to be a clear case of a former radical activist now embracing the lifestyle of the political elite. That is, Turei's metamorphosis from anarco-feminist, to bourgeois-chic politician represents an all too common process. A process that involves the transformation of radical activists, who get a taste of power, into Establishment politicians – with a luxury lifestyle to go along with their newly acquired positions. In effect such former radicals, who once decried the wealth and excess of the rich and powerful, end up initially emulating and then becoming indistinguishable from the Establishment figures that they once criticised. In this guest blogpost John Moore dismisses Metiria Turei's rather bizarre cry of 'racism'. He argues that this is a clear case where identity politics is being used to obfuscate an issue that is actually about class and political privilege, and nothing to do with racism. He then critiques Turei for using race politics as a way to defend her privileged position as an elected member of Parliament. That is, rather than being a victim of racism, Turei is using a typical tactic, whereby elite members of marginalised groups use identity ideology to defend their wealth, privilege and power positions. [Read more below]
Hello... Animal Farm
George Orwell's classic tale of one-time radical/revolutionary leaders being corrupted by political power and the wealth comes to mind here. In the final chapter of Orwell's Animal Farm, a description is given of a speech by the once anti-human/anti-capitalist leader, the lead pig Napoleon. From once being an anti-Establishment leader, Napoleon has now reconciled himself with the oppressive system he once set out to overthrow:
Like all of Napoleon's speeches, it was short and to the point. He too, he said, was happy that the period of misunderstanding was at an end. For a long time there had been rumours circulated...that there was something subversive and even revolutionary in the outlook of himself and his colleagues...Nothing could be further from the truth! Their sole wish, now and in the past, was to live at peace and in normal business relations with their neighbours.
Orwell ends his allegorical tale by showing the the former subversive leaders' transformation into a new elite when they take on the actual appearance of the Establishment figures they once rallied against:
The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
Turei as an Establishment figure
In the case of Metira Turei, she has been able to deflect a critique of her own 'evolution' as a political player, by using the politics of identity to play the victim. According to the Green Co-leader, she is facing a vicious racist attack from National MPs Anne Tolley and Judith Collins who, according to Turei, resent seeing a Maori women from a working class background gaining success. However, the reality is that the National MPs were merely saying to Turei that she is now one of them, that is she is now part of the political ruling class. Therefore, according to Tolley and Collins, Turei should resist attacking Tory MPs as being disconnected from the general electorate, especially the poorest sections, when Turei herself is now a fully fledged, $2000-jacket-wearing, part of the Establishment.
Demeaning real experiences of racism
Metiria Turei has acted to demean the very real experiences of racism many ordinary people face in New Zealand. This includes the everyday profiling by the police of Maori and Polynesians, growing levels of resentment felt towards new Asian immigrants, and the continued prevalence of poverty amongst certain minority groups due partly to the legacy of colonisation in New Zealand . For Turei to cynically make an accusation of racism, when her life on an MPs income has been highlighted, is to belittle others who have to put up with very real racism and discrimination. And unfortunately this is not the first and won't be the last that playing the victim is used by a member of the political elite.
How identity politics protects privilege
Does not Metiria Turei's accusation of racism, and even sexism, when challenged over her privileged lifestyle, remind us of countless numbers of post-colonial political leaders who have used accusations of racism and 'imperialist arrogance' to deflect any criticism made of their opulent lifestyles and corrupt politics? An obscene example being Imelda Marcos' accusation of 'racism' against the Western Press for highlighting her corrupt lifestyle. So Turei's defense is hardly original.
Here's the former Philippine's First Lady reaction against those who attacked her opulent dress sense:
[Imelda Marcos] blamed "a very racist and very prejudiced press" that was surprised when "a first lady of a third-world country comes in suddenly having shoes."
Such an example highlights how modern theories of racism, privilege, intersectionality, and post-colonialism are used to defend privilege amongst non-white elite-players and self-declared representatives of oppressed and marginalised groups. And universities have played a central role, such as with the development of post-colonial studies, in giving non-white political actors an ideological defense of their privilege. The radical philosopher, Slovoj Zizek, has this to say on the link between politically correct theories and the protection of privilege:
I really hate all of this politically correct, cultural studies bullshit. If you mention the phrase “postcolonialism,” I say, “Fuck it!” Postcolonialism is the invention of some rich guys from India who saw that they could make a good career in top Western universities by playing on the guilt of white liberals.
Leftists defending privilege
Almost no leftwingers have criticised Metira Turei for playing the race card to defend her privilege, nor have they criticised her transformation into a regular Establishment politician. In fact, quite the opposite has occurred, with many a socialist, anti-capitalist and even Marxists rushing to Turei's defense. This leftist impulse to defend the Green co-leader partly comes from a belief that the Green Party is on 'our' side. That is, the Greens are still seen as an anti-Establishment party. However, this view amounts to a false conception of what role the Greens play in the wider scheme of capitalist politics in New Zealand.
Metira Turei and the Greens - part of the political ruling class
Turei's lashing out at her Tory foes can be partially understood as coming from the unease felt within the Greens over the party's moves towards becoming increasing mainstream and respectable within the framework of New Zealand politics. Since the election of Russel Norman and Metira Turei as joint leaders of the party, more 'wacky', radical and leftwing voices have been marginalised within the Greens.
However, the Greens, who will opportunistically swing between left and right positions, have recently taken up some of the concerns of those influenced by the politics of the recent Occupy movement. Inequality is a hot issue now, and so Norman and Turei have been adept at grabbing onto this issue and making it their own. Whereas up to recently the Greens seemed less and less interested in issues of social justice, concentrating increasingly on environmental concerns, the party has decided to take a step to the left in hope of reaping the electoral benefits. And this tactic is clearly working, with much of the left-leaning sector of the electorate seeing the Green Party as a better choice for challenging the inequities of society, as opposed to the lackluster Labour Party
The problem for the Greens though is that this current swing to the left conflicts with the leaderships' deliberate cultivating of a more mainstream and conservative image for the party. That Norman and Turei, for example, have taken to wearing expensive corporate attire, to mixing freely in elite circles, and that they have cultivated a moderate 'neither left or right' image, contrasts starkly with their current image as champions of the poor. Therefore, what really irked Metiria Turei was that her, and her party's, current electioneering on issues of inequality has been shown to be pure opportunism, when the party itself is now a fully fledged member of the elite political club that makes up parliament.
The attacks on Turei have nothing to do with racism. This should be obvious, especially for the left. But because of the continued dominance of identity politics over class politics in this country, leftwing commentators in New Zealand often fail to see the reality of growing class inequality within minority sectors of society. Instead New Zealand's social-liberal left often end up defending privilege, rather than challenging inequality and ruling class power, when it has a non-white face.
