It seems unlikely that Labour’s unexpectedly good showing in the last election was attributable to a wave of enthusiasm for Jeremy Corbyn’s anachronistic Marxist views. In reality, it was due to:
- Theresa May’s weaknesses as a campaigner;
- General weariness with austerity; and
- Widespread opposition to Brexit among young people. As we have seen in this week’s posts, this is a form of identity politics.
Will Corbyn grasp the opportunity to turn Labour into a more identity-based party, similar to the Democrats in the United States? Don’t hold your breath. Like Bernie Sanders, Corbyn views racial and cultural divisions as a form of false consciousness driven by the class system. He doesn’t really oppose Brexit, or even care about it; he just wants the issue to cause the government to implode and drop power in his lap, so he can bring back the “glory days” of the late seventies, or even the late forties.
If you think that sounds ridiculous, you’re right. Corbyn is a reactionary in his own way; his vision of a UK run by and for a militant working class makes as much sense as trying to revive the British Empire.