Race, Gender & Class Struggle
Albert Einstein once said that it is easier to split the atom than to crack a prejudice. Prejudices abound about all cultures and societies. In the U.S., we pretend there is no class or that we are almost all satisfied members of the middle-class. Class struggle? What’s that about? Are you some kind of Marxist? The evidence is clear and unambiguous. There is massive and growing inequality and huge disparities in wages and benefits. The average CEO earns $42,000 a day. Wall Street bankers and traders are getting year-end bonuses of up to $50 million. When the privileges of the ruling class are not being justified, their existence is being denied. And the politicians, with some exceptions, enable the rich in amassing ever more wealth.
Speaker
Michael Parenti
Michael Parenti was a leading independent political analyst, scholar, and author. Cornel West called him “a towering prophetic voice.” He taught at major colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. He is the author of numerous books, including Democracy for the Few, Power and the Powerless, and Against Empire. He passed away on January 24, 2026, at the age of 92.
Questioning the Unquestionable
“It is not demanded of readers that they embrace my views, but that they reflect upon their own. How seldom we bother to explore in some critical fashion the fundamental preconceptions that shape our understanding of social and political life. How frequently, as if by reflex rather than reflection, we respond to certain cues and incantations, resisting any incongruous notion. Our opinions shelter and support us; it is an excruciating effort to submit them to reappraisal. Yet if we are to maintain some pretense at being rational creatures, we must risk the discomfiture that comes with questioning the unquestionable, and try to transcend our tendencies toward mental confinement.” – Michael Parenti
MS ANGELA ROSS –
I need to listen to this a second or third time, as it is so rich with history and philosophy, that it deserves serious listening and further research. I thought it was brilliant to show how class struggle is the thing that drives the other two — race and gender. It is an aspect of our society that is not usually examined. If Parenti’s message in this lecture were more widely understood, we would not have half the societal problems that currently (2022) plague us. Whether it’s homelessness, or gangs, or lack of social services, it all traces back to CLASS. Listen and learn why.