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Settlers: The Mythology of the White Proletariat from Mayflower to Modern
Settlers is a uniquely important book in the canon of the North American revolutionary left and anticolonial movements. First published in the 1980s by activists with decades of experience organizing in grassroots anticapitalist struggles against white supremacy, the book soon established itself as an essential reference point for revolutionary nationalists and dissident currents within the predominantly colonialist Marxist-Leninist and anarchist movements at that time.
Always controversial within the establishment Left Settlers uncovers centuries of collaboration between capitalism and white workers and their organizations, as well as their neocolonial allies, showing how the United States was designed from the ground up as a parasitic and genocidal entity. Settlers exposes the fact that America’s white citizenry have never supported themselves but have always resorted to exploitation and theft, culminating in acts of genocide to maintain their culture and way of life. As recounted in painful detail by Sakai, the United States has been built on the theft of Indigenous lands and of Afrikan labor, on the robbery of the northern third of Mexico, the colonization of Puerto Rico, and the expropriation of the Asian working class, with each of these crimes being accompanied by violence.
This new edition includes “Cash & The True Story of Japanese-American Reparations” and an interview with author J. Sakai by Ernesto Aguilar.
Please note that none of the illustrations from the paperback edition are included in the digital version.
What People Are Saying
“Settlers is a critical analysis of the colonization of the Americas that overturns the 'official' narrative of poor and dispossessed European settlers to reveal the true nature of genocidal invasion and land theft that has occurred for over five hundred years. If you want to understand the present, you must know the past, and this book is a vital contribution to that effort.”
—Gord Hill, author of 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance
“Great works measure up, inspire higher standards of intellectual and moral honesty, and, when appreciated for what they are, serve as a guide for those among us who intend a transformation of reality. Settlers should serve as a reminder (to anyone who needs one) of the genocidal tendencies of the empire, the traitorous interplay between settler-capitalist, settler-nondescript, and colonial flunkies."
—Kuwasi Balagoon, Black Liberation Army
“When Settlers hit the tiers of San Quentin, back in 1986, it totally exploded our ideas about what we as a new class of revolutionaries thought we knew about a so-called ‘united working class’ in amerika. And what's more, it brought the actual contradictions of national oppression and imperialism into sharp focus. It was my first, and as such my truest, study of the actual mechanics behind the expertly fabricated illusion of an amerikan proletariat.”
—Sanyika Shakur, author of The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member
Always controversial within the establishment Left Settlers uncovers centuries of collaboration between capitalism and white workers and their organizations, as well as their neocolonial allies, showing how the United States was designed from the ground up as a parasitic and genocidal entity. Settlers exposes the fact that America’s white citizenry have never supported themselves but have always resorted to exploitation and theft, culminating in acts of genocide to maintain their culture and way of life. As recounted in painful detail by Sakai, the United States has been built on the theft of Indigenous lands and of Afrikan labor, on the robbery of the northern third of Mexico, the colonization of Puerto Rico, and the expropriation of the Asian working class, with each of these crimes being accompanied by violence.
This new edition includes “Cash & The True Story of Japanese-American Reparations” and an interview with author J. Sakai by Ernesto Aguilar.
Please note that none of the illustrations from the paperback edition are included in the digital version.
What People Are Saying
“Settlers is a critical analysis of the colonization of the Americas that overturns the 'official' narrative of poor and dispossessed European settlers to reveal the true nature of genocidal invasion and land theft that has occurred for over five hundred years. If you want to understand the present, you must know the past, and this book is a vital contribution to that effort.”
—Gord Hill, author of 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance
“Great works measure up, inspire higher standards of intellectual and moral honesty, and, when appreciated for what they are, serve as a guide for those among us who intend a transformation of reality. Settlers should serve as a reminder (to anyone who needs one) of the genocidal tendencies of the empire, the traitorous interplay between settler-capitalist, settler-nondescript, and colonial flunkies."
—Kuwasi Balagoon, Black Liberation Army
“When Settlers hit the tiers of San Quentin, back in 1986, it totally exploded our ideas about what we as a new class of revolutionaries thought we knew about a so-called ‘united working class’ in amerika. And what's more, it brought the actual contradictions of national oppression and imperialism into sharp focus. It was my first, and as such my truest, study of the actual mechanics behind the expertly fabricated illusion of an amerikan proletariat.”
—Sanyika Shakur, author of The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member
379 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1983
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About the author
J. Sakai
15 books74 followersJ. Sakai is a revolutionary intellectual with decades of experience as an activist in the U.S.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
June 6, 2016
Let me start by saying that the main thing on my mind while reading Settlers was the following questions: Why have I never seen this book or most of the information included in it referenced by any self-described leftist academics? Why have I instead heard mostly the same flawed, incomplete, and misleading interpretations of American history that Sakai discredits? From the first pages of Settlers I got a hint of why. It's not because Sakai isn't accurate most of the time, but instead because the style of writing takes the exact tone that evokes hostility from leftists who at core believe white supremacy is only for broke white Republicans and from lukewarm liberals who prefer multiculturalist reform strategies that involve assimilation as am answer for racial minorities. I am skeptical that the people who are most damned by this piece can fall out of love with whiteness long enough to actually see any of Sakai's points; all points that must be addressed if you are proposing "radicalism" or "revolutionary" idea that is afraid of alienating white-identified people.
Overall, this book kept me repeatedly shocked because on nearly every page there was a new detail that I never heard in a classroom discussion of the very same time periods and events in history. For example, at one point I was somewhat annoyed at the fact that I was reading new details that were not addressed in Ira Katznelson's "When Affirmative Action Was White". Specifically, Katznelson presented the time period as if it was merely an unplanned, unintentional result that Black veterans were left out of New Deal benefits, yet Sakai provides details suggesting that it was NOT coincidence, but instead part of a very large pattern in which the government administration was nakedly and blatantly pursuing imperialist goals, enacting violence on anyone who got in the way. Similarly, I've repeatedly heard of various rebellions being touted by leftists as evidence of white-Black unity in anti capitalist action, but Sakai also offers some pretty unignorable details that raise questions about the intentions of people circulating these misleading narratives. My biggest take away from this book is that people are sorely mistaken and severely misinformed if they think anti capitalist action in the West can stand alone rather than being guided first and foremost by an internationalist strategy that struggles against imperialist capitalism. Excellent and necessary read, especially if you're for some reason buying the idea that "unity" or some other empty concept will solve problems that are the direct consequence of the colonialist and imperialist origins of the seat of the Empire.
Overall, this book kept me repeatedly shocked because on nearly every page there was a new detail that I never heard in a classroom discussion of the very same time periods and events in history. For example, at one point I was somewhat annoyed at the fact that I was reading new details that were not addressed in Ira Katznelson's "When Affirmative Action Was White". Specifically, Katznelson presented the time period as if it was merely an unplanned, unintentional result that Black veterans were left out of New Deal benefits, yet Sakai provides details suggesting that it was NOT coincidence, but instead part of a very large pattern in which the government administration was nakedly and blatantly pursuing imperialist goals, enacting violence on anyone who got in the way. Similarly, I've repeatedly heard of various rebellions being touted by leftists as evidence of white-Black unity in anti capitalist action, but Sakai also offers some pretty unignorable details that raise questions about the intentions of people circulating these misleading narratives. My biggest take away from this book is that people are sorely mistaken and severely misinformed if they think anti capitalist action in the West can stand alone rather than being guided first and foremost by an internationalist strategy that struggles against imperialist capitalism. Excellent and necessary read, especially if you're for some reason buying the idea that "unity" or some other empty concept will solve problems that are the direct consequence of the colonialist and imperialist origins of the seat of the Empire.
June 14, 2017
The author takes an anti-Marxist racialist and essentialist approach to summarize a highly distorted history of the relationship between race, nationality and class in the US. Ends up fawning over someone who colaborated with the KKK and considered himself a fascist.
Don't waste your time with this.
Don't waste your time with this.
November 26, 2011
Settlers has been the most influential book I've ever read clueing me into the revisionism and pro-imperialism endemic among the white Euro-Amerikan "Left" since its birth. Sakai chronicles the history of Euro-Amerikans since they first set foot on the North American continent and the genocide, exploitation, and oppression that has been perpetuated through the centuries. The contradictions between oppressor and oppressed nations is conveniently overlooked by the white "Left" and Sakai's analysis focuses exactly on that and the historic facts that back his theory up.
As the title says, Sakai breaks down the myth of the white proletariat as well as the benefits of strategic racial integrationalism, which has historically resulted in further oppression of the oppressed time immemorial. This should be complusory reading for all communists of any race for the brilliant insights. Modern white "communists" continue to disregard Sakai's theory as the imperialist charateristic of the priveleged white "Left" lives on unabashedly. Let this timeless classic be a warning to future leftists of what can happen when the contradictions between nations are not taken into account.
As the title says, Sakai breaks down the myth of the white proletariat as well as the benefits of strategic racial integrationalism, which has historically resulted in further oppression of the oppressed time immemorial. This should be complusory reading for all communists of any race for the brilliant insights. Modern white "communists" continue to disregard Sakai's theory as the imperialist charateristic of the priveleged white "Left" lives on unabashedly. Let this timeless classic be a warning to future leftists of what can happen when the contradictions between nations are not taken into account.
June 15, 2020
This is well done and critical reading.
Apparently leftist who aren't Black tend to have hurt feelings about this.
So proceed with caution if you're racist.
Apparently leftist who aren't Black tend to have hurt feelings about this.
So proceed with caution if you're racist.
May 17, 2017
This book is anti-marxist and the author outright fabricates statistics. It pushes a reactionary and prejudiced view which undermines class unity. All the morons talking about how great this book is are why the left in America is so impotent.
April 10, 2008
In many ways J. Sakai's Settlers was a groundbreaking book for that sliver of the North American left that one may term "revolutionary". People from all strains of the radical left took notice of its analysis. It was promoted by the Love & Rage Revolutionary Anarchist Federation, the Maoist International Movement and various radical feminist, anti-imperialist and anti-racist organizations. The book is still being debated, interpreted, and re-interpreted today.
Certainly, for myself, it was a book that completely changed by political frame-of-reference, and continued to do so as i re-read it every few years ever since a comrade first lent me a copy in the eighties.
Certainly, for myself, it was a book that completely changed by political frame-of-reference, and continued to do so as i re-read it every few years ever since a comrade first lent me a copy in the eighties.
June 6, 2017
Definitely a necessary read for those who want to understand the mythology of the white proletariat, how it conceptualizes itself as a broad-based workers movement when the reality and history of white labor organizing tells a completely different story.
It makes for a fascinating read, but by the same token there are some noticeable flaws:
1. As other reviewers have said gender doesn't feature prominently in the book. Women's involvement in communist and socialist labor organizing is completely omitted, which is odd if you know anything about Claudia Jones and histories of black women's leftist labor organizing. This could also be said for the attempts to contextualize U.S labor organizing as part of a transnationalist constellation of movements where U.S imperialism has taken hold. I would find it hard to believe that women didn't factor prominently in the intersections between anti-imperialism and labor struggles.
2. To this end the definition of labor is limited to industrialized aspects of society, which are androcentric. Gendered forms of labor, such as domestic work, doesn't factor into how the white proletariat understands its own mythology in relation to non-white workers. I'm sure the schism between poor white women and black + WoC who have historically been domestics for bourgeois white families would prove to be another interesting historical tension.
3. Queerness would have provided an additional analysis to this, especially since there have been LGBTQ folks in leftist labor spaces in the 60s and 70s (leslie feinberg being a perfect example of this). Additionally, since marriage equality's historical narrative is that its a movement that evolved out of the struggles of working class white lesbians and gays, it would be interesting to understand how white working class gays and lesbians conceptualized themselves in relation to the larger white proletariat and whether their internal narrative of class & anti-racist struggle coalesces or diverges.
Overall its a great book, super informative on a lot of levels. But it could stand to complicate its analysis on who constitutes a "worker" within the history of workers struggles.
It makes for a fascinating read, but by the same token there are some noticeable flaws:
1. As other reviewers have said gender doesn't feature prominently in the book. Women's involvement in communist and socialist labor organizing is completely omitted, which is odd if you know anything about Claudia Jones and histories of black women's leftist labor organizing. This could also be said for the attempts to contextualize U.S labor organizing as part of a transnationalist constellation of movements where U.S imperialism has taken hold. I would find it hard to believe that women didn't factor prominently in the intersections between anti-imperialism and labor struggles.
2. To this end the definition of labor is limited to industrialized aspects of society, which are androcentric. Gendered forms of labor, such as domestic work, doesn't factor into how the white proletariat understands its own mythology in relation to non-white workers. I'm sure the schism between poor white women and black + WoC who have historically been domestics for bourgeois white families would prove to be another interesting historical tension.
3. Queerness would have provided an additional analysis to this, especially since there have been LGBTQ folks in leftist labor spaces in the 60s and 70s (leslie feinberg being a perfect example of this). Additionally, since marriage equality's historical narrative is that its a movement that evolved out of the struggles of working class white lesbians and gays, it would be interesting to understand how white working class gays and lesbians conceptualized themselves in relation to the larger white proletariat and whether their internal narrative of class & anti-racist struggle coalesces or diverges.
Overall its a great book, super informative on a lot of levels. But it could stand to complicate its analysis on who constitutes a "worker" within the history of workers struggles.
November 16, 2021
A left twitter/leftbook cult classic with all the virtues and flaws of "western Maoism". Sakai answers the old 'why no socialism in the United States?' question with 'because settler colonialism', and backs it up with an immense weight of facts, some of which make very uncomfortable reading. I think this is basically correct, and that attempts to explain it away with scattered examples where it has briefly not pertained are holding up exceptions as rules; Sakai's details might sometimes be elided or internally incoherent but they ring true more often than not. The analysis and prescriptions and the portrayal of the non-Maoist left are deeply sectarian and in places (as on McCarthyism and the IWW) plain vindictive, and the book leaves out little real prospect for change except some sort of revolutionary war of the oppressed 'nations' within the USA in large part against the settler working class as well as the bourgeoisie. That's a prescription for certain (and bloody) failure as much as any of the more conventional leftism Sakai is so (sometimes hilariously) withering about. For all that, Settlers is a tonic in the face of current pieties about the "white working class" and should be read, with a pinch of salt handy.
Read
December 26, 2020Prime example of how having a bad analytical framework can turn interesting source material and a valid motivation into bad history. If you wanna start an anarchist race war, read this.
March 14, 2021
I read J. Sakai's Settlers in the summer of 2020, just as Black Lives Matter protests were erupting around the United States. Deeply studying and taking notes on Sakai's text at the time aided my realization that settler colonialism and settlerism were key to understanding why the American left has failed and failed so consistently.
Being able to see in real time as Trumpian armed anti-mask protestors were able to peacefully take over a Michigan government building while peaceful BLM protesters were being brutalized by police reinforced that when it comes to enforcing the settler hierarchy, the state will not hesitate. Even now, almost a year after reading it, many of Sakai's ideas have deeply reflected how I think and look at the world. His reframing of McCarthyism as nothing more than a slap on the wrist, his analysis of settler culture (probably one of the most biting chapters of the book), and his analysis of how organization must be conducted has remained relevant and important.
Although settlers themselves will denounce the book, calling it "outdated" or "anti-Marxist," what is more "anti-Marxist" than failing to properly investigate each and every reason the US left has failed? If Marxism is a ruthless criticism of all that exists, then Sakai is certainly very ruthless. At the end of the day, as long as settler colonialism and imperialism continue to exist, Sakai's Settlers will continue to remain relevant.
Being able to see in real time as Trumpian armed anti-mask protestors were able to peacefully take over a Michigan government building while peaceful BLM protesters were being brutalized by police reinforced that when it comes to enforcing the settler hierarchy, the state will not hesitate. Even now, almost a year after reading it, many of Sakai's ideas have deeply reflected how I think and look at the world. His reframing of McCarthyism as nothing more than a slap on the wrist, his analysis of settler culture (probably one of the most biting chapters of the book), and his analysis of how organization must be conducted has remained relevant and important.
Although settlers themselves will denounce the book, calling it "outdated" or "anti-Marxist," what is more "anti-Marxist" than failing to properly investigate each and every reason the US left has failed? If Marxism is a ruthless criticism of all that exists, then Sakai is certainly very ruthless. At the end of the day, as long as settler colonialism and imperialism continue to exist, Sakai's Settlers will continue to remain relevant.
February 17, 2012
The definitive book on Why You Should Hate Amerikkka. Not only educational, but entertaining too! A must-read book for radicals of all stripes.
January 5, 2013
Completely upends the myths of "racism" as some sort of unfortunate transistory phenomenon, the situation of whites as comparable to other groups and the idea that radical movements are some sort of white-only thing. It has problems that are inevitable for a pretty short book - many areas being somewhat rushed through - but it still manages to be pretty comprehensive of what it does cover and to clearly and forcefully show the truth of what it argues. Absolutely essential and it's fucked up (but unsurprising) how little of what's discussed here is considered by the "radical" left and how little follow up there's been on the points raised which are essential to challenging the reality of the imperialist, capitalist system.
April 5, 2021
Absolute tendentious rubbish, mired in confusions and historical error. Its a slightly suspect book from the perspective of message which is a stealth anti communism. Its also simply bad scholarship. Avoid.
May 4, 2014
To echo the words of Kersplebedeb the book is "groundbreaking". Magnificently simple and yet so earth-shattering for anyone raised on a heavy diet of bourgeois historicism. Truly rewriting the history of settler-colonialism in a way which highlights the utter ugliness of it all.
January 13, 2022
fantastic book, everyone should read especially if living in the american empire. some ppl say this book is anti-marxist and revisionist. they are idiots who have no understanding of historical dialects. also proud of myself for finishing this book, she thic 🥵
August 9, 2015
The central thesis of the book, that white American workers lack the class consciousness that more oppressed races have, seems contrived and unsupported. But through the discussion Sakai uncovers the important intersections of race and class across American history, and rightly calls out the white left for its racist past and present. Lots of interesting information if you can take it with a big grain of salt.
March 13, 2018
It's really quite funny and a good amount sad what sort of reception this book gets among first world leftists. I have to admit however that it would be a disservice to this book if it were otherwise.
There are a few sentences from Noel Ignatiev (How the Irish Became White) on this book that really spell things out for us.
To be sure I consider this to be brain dead nonsense, but what's interesting here is the logic embedded in the statement. It reveals much more than intended.
First what would the import of this statement be? A rebuking of the central thesis of Settlers or some considerable portion of the work. How is this done? We are presented with individuals who we can be expected to approve of, a task that we approve of, then are asked to reject any theory that wouldn't in appearance or otherwise work to enable this task, which - and here is the important part - is not a question of accuracy but an attempt to defend a narrative, one that first worlders are invariably wedded to. There it is! He gives it away, I don't like Settlers because I don't want it to be true. And yet instead of not making it true about themselves and their practice first worlders choose to simply deny it, this fact speaks volumes. Updated tactics and an opportunity for self criticism are replaced by a litany of willful and uncharitable misreadings.
Note that in saying this I don't admit the premise that Sakai 'denies the existence of fissures in white society' in the first place, in fact I could cite many places where he mentions them and the entire discussion of class society is predicated on one quite obvious fissure. One has to wonder why Noel would feel comfortable making such an obviously dishonest remark.
The book can be summarized in one statement: due to the history of the United States, Euro-American workers first of all serve as a garrison community keeping in check oppressed national minorities and second have material interest in supporting imperialism which necessarily brings about a virulent chauvinism. Something so simple and obvious it takes a genius not to see it. It is this that should assume the mantle of materialism, saying that on the contrary oppression occurs due to the acceptance of bad ideology alone inculcated entirely by an external class is nothing other than idealism - it's literally idealism and in this case the diametric opposite of reality.
One should consider what Noel said, which is representative of the vast majority of detractors, against how Marx says we should investigate the world.
There are a few sentences from Noel Ignatiev (How the Irish Became White) on this book that really spell things out for us.
For European-Americans who think that revolution is necessary, what better use could there be of their time, intelligence, and energy than the effort to crack open white society? To do that, they need a theory that will point out the fissures in it, not deny their existence.
To be sure I consider this to be brain dead nonsense, but what's interesting here is the logic embedded in the statement. It reveals much more than intended.
First what would the import of this statement be? A rebuking of the central thesis of Settlers or some considerable portion of the work. How is this done? We are presented with individuals who we can be expected to approve of, a task that we approve of, then are asked to reject any theory that wouldn't in appearance or otherwise work to enable this task, which - and here is the important part - is not a question of accuracy but an attempt to defend a narrative, one that first worlders are invariably wedded to. There it is! He gives it away, I don't like Settlers because I don't want it to be true. And yet instead of not making it true about themselves and their practice first worlders choose to simply deny it, this fact speaks volumes. Updated tactics and an opportunity for self criticism are replaced by a litany of willful and uncharitable misreadings.
Note that in saying this I don't admit the premise that Sakai 'denies the existence of fissures in white society' in the first place, in fact I could cite many places where he mentions them and the entire discussion of class society is predicated on one quite obvious fissure. One has to wonder why Noel would feel comfortable making such an obviously dishonest remark.
The book can be summarized in one statement: due to the history of the United States, Euro-American workers first of all serve as a garrison community keeping in check oppressed national minorities and second have material interest in supporting imperialism which necessarily brings about a virulent chauvinism. Something so simple and obvious it takes a genius not to see it. It is this that should assume the mantle of materialism, saying that on the contrary oppression occurs due to the acceptance of bad ideology alone inculcated entirely by an external class is nothing other than idealism - it's literally idealism and in this case the diametric opposite of reality.
One should consider what Noel said, which is representative of the vast majority of detractors, against how Marx says we should investigate the world.
But, if constructing the future and settling everything for all times are not our affair, it is all the more clear what we have to accomplish at present: I am referring to ruthless criticism of all that exists, ruthless both in the sense of not being afraid of the results it arrives at and in the sense of being just as little afraid of the conflict with the powers that be.... In that case we do not confront the world in a doctrinaire way with a new principle: Here is the truth, kneel down before it! We develop new principles for the world out of the world's own principles. We do not say to the world: Cease your struggles, they are foolish; we will give you the true slogan of the struggle. We merely show the world what it is really fighting for, and consciousness is something that it has to acquire, even if it does not want to.
February 8, 2018
Settlers is a must-read particularly for leftists based in the US. For those outside the US, it is a great read to understand why America is the way it is and where it came from. It gave me a new perspective of trade unions, ones that I saw reflected in the UK and was useful for me in understanding the purpose of labour aristocracy. It's a little cranky at times, not sure I'm big on the strange spelling of America, reminds me of the people who only call it AmeriKKKa, made it hard to take seriously initially. Look past that and it's a very informative read on the mechanisms of whiteness and white supremacy.
June 7, 2022
i can see this making A LOT of white revisionists seethe so that must mean a lot of its theoretical insights are correct LMFAO!! jokes aside, an incredibly necessary text for examining the failures of american leftism and how intra-class dynamics has been driven by settler colonialism. i feel like this has fundamentally altered how i think about certain elements of american history and the nature of organizing in general. anyways, https://readsettlers.org/ now
March 30, 2018
to be clear, i'm giving this book 5 stars not because i actually "loved" it but because i think it is vital, crucial reading for all settlers, particularly those of us who are of the american variety (whatever our actual "class" or fractional "ethnic" backgrounds). it's available free online. read it.
January 6, 2021
What was your favorite part? The part where he chides the CPUSA for not dying in concentration camps like Italian communists or the part where he claims Holocaust “Propaganda” has a sole interest in abating white guilt and promoting Zionism?
By god, I am begging you to read a better history book. Don’t get me wrong, there is a good deal of decent history writing in here, but it is overshadowed by the many moments of ahistorical, poorly evidenced essentialist screed. The ending paragraph is a nice capture of the biggest failure of the modern Amerikan left “Every nation and people has its own contribution to make to the world revolution. This is true for all of us, and obviously for Euro-Amerikans as well. But this is another discussion, one that can only really take place in the context of breaking up the U.S. Empire and ending the U.S. oppressor nation”. This is on some third worldist shit, even if Sakai rejects that label. The left needs a far more nuanced and complex understanding of whiteness if we are to make any progress. Sakai himself says that his social investigation (in the Maoist sense) is lack luster.
Chuckling at the thought of the average white IWW member thinking “Hmm, today I will advocate for a Communistic overthrow of the US government so I can actually preserve my power and prestige in the Amerikan settler hierarchy”.
Oh and obviously oppressive or reactionary movements would never arise from Afrikan struggles, that is unless they have bought into settleristic lies and conspiracy! Obviously the Afrikan longshoremen who refused to join the UMW boycott of South Afrikan coal (before they were visited by a Zimbabwean activist) did so because they saw right through the radical settler psy-op of racial solidarity meant to protect settler jobs! This is evidenced by a secret meeting had between UMW leadership and radical settlers which I don’t source!
This kind of fetishistic idealism is problematic in it’s own way. This book skirts the gritty details of material conditions and evades the complex motivations unionized workers might have.
More thorough, less conspiratorial investigation needs to happen if we are to truly grasp why whites are stagnant in regards to “our” thoughts on race and class.
By god, I am begging you to read a better history book. Don’t get me wrong, there is a good deal of decent history writing in here, but it is overshadowed by the many moments of ahistorical, poorly evidenced essentialist screed. The ending paragraph is a nice capture of the biggest failure of the modern Amerikan left “Every nation and people has its own contribution to make to the world revolution. This is true for all of us, and obviously for Euro-Amerikans as well. But this is another discussion, one that can only really take place in the context of breaking up the U.S. Empire and ending the U.S. oppressor nation”. This is on some third worldist shit, even if Sakai rejects that label. The left needs a far more nuanced and complex understanding of whiteness if we are to make any progress. Sakai himself says that his social investigation (in the Maoist sense) is lack luster.
Chuckling at the thought of the average white IWW member thinking “Hmm, today I will advocate for a Communistic overthrow of the US government so I can actually preserve my power and prestige in the Amerikan settler hierarchy”.
Oh and obviously oppressive or reactionary movements would never arise from Afrikan struggles, that is unless they have bought into settleristic lies and conspiracy! Obviously the Afrikan longshoremen who refused to join the UMW boycott of South Afrikan coal (before they were visited by a Zimbabwean activist) did so because they saw right through the radical settler psy-op of racial solidarity meant to protect settler jobs! This is evidenced by a secret meeting had between UMW leadership and radical settlers which I don’t source!
This kind of fetishistic idealism is problematic in it’s own way. This book skirts the gritty details of material conditions and evades the complex motivations unionized workers might have.
More thorough, less conspiratorial investigation needs to happen if we are to truly grasp why whites are stagnant in regards to “our” thoughts on race and class.
December 23, 2023
One lens through which I've been intentionally consuming media this year has been psychopathology (and in particular, fascist psychopathology). I think it's really important to understand the base ideological motivations for fascist movements, be they Nazi, Zionist, or otherwise settler. While some of Sakai's conclusions weren't ultimately fully convincing to me, I find his interrogation of what it means to be a Euro-Amerikan settler - and the ultimate strategic implications of its identity vis a vis occupied/internally colonized Afrikans in particular - incredibly important to reckon with. Ultimately, what he wants us to consider are the national modifiers of class relations, which are admittedly understated in a lot of Western leftist tradition, especially in labor. It was laid bare when Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, led the charge in the actors' strike this summer, and then went on to cheerlead the fascist Zionist regime's genocidal assault against Palestinians.
Some of the arguments are more compelling than others, but I'd say this is a very important read that can offer some interesting nuggets and insights. It feels like a good companion text for someone who's read Gerald Horne's groundbreaking scholarship.
Some of the arguments are more compelling than others, but I'd say this is a very important read that can offer some interesting nuggets and insights. It feels like a good companion text for someone who's read Gerald Horne's groundbreaking scholarship.
June 25, 2017
Revisionist "history". Rather disgusting in its approach. Sadly people believe it. Save your time. Read American Lion
November 16, 2020
Are you dissatisfied with how American history is propagandized in the news, school curriculums, and social media? Have you ever felt the urge to ask "How?" or "Why?" events happened because the explanations were quaint and a bit too convenient. If you are perplexed as to why the United States will never come close to passing legislation of universal healthcare, federal job guarantees, or anything close to helping the "99%"? J Sakai gives a really good reason why.
Written in the early 80s and late 70s, Sakai explains how countless failed attempts to organize the American working class for workers' rights/unionization led him to look back to American history. In this work, he provides the unabridged version of the "Amerikan" settler-colonial history. He provides the reader with a detailed explanation as to who the working class is and who the working class isn't and how a large portion of the 60.7% of Americans will make sure they're always standing on at least 13.4% of the population.
What I find the most poignant is that Sakai doesn't sugarcoat the history and does so in an easily digestible way.
I implore every Black, Native, Latino, and Asian American to read this book. As for white Americans, before picking this up to read ask yourself if you really want to know how your father, grandfather, and/or great grandfather acquired their land and wealth. If you prefer the fantasy of bootstraps and world war 2, you will have the same reaction as if you tried to look directly into the sun while attempting to read this book.
Written in the early 80s and late 70s, Sakai explains how countless failed attempts to organize the American working class for workers' rights/unionization led him to look back to American history. In this work, he provides the unabridged version of the "Amerikan" settler-colonial history. He provides the reader with a detailed explanation as to who the working class is and who the working class isn't and how a large portion of the 60.7% of Americans will make sure they're always standing on at least 13.4% of the population.
What I find the most poignant is that Sakai doesn't sugarcoat the history and does so in an easily digestible way.
I implore every Black, Native, Latino, and Asian American to read this book. As for white Americans, before picking this up to read ask yourself if you really want to know how your father, grandfather, and/or great grandfather acquired their land and wealth. If you prefer the fantasy of bootstraps and world war 2, you will have the same reaction as if you tried to look directly into the sun while attempting to read this book.
June 14, 2018
The widely misunderstood nature of labor organizing (and social justice work as a whole) in the U.S. is severely lacking the brutally honest, practical, and strategic class analysis that this book provides. It’s unfortunate that it’s not more widely read and discussed, especially by white leftists.
This book changed how I think about revolutionary work, the history of class struggle, and existing global and Amerikan class structures in such a radical way. I am angry that most of what I’d believed up until reading this book was rooted in dishonest and self-serving white settler colonial propaganda. Those beliefs also reflected my own investment in upholding white settlerism, but I’m grateful that those illusions could be dispelled by this important work.
Any serious, principled leftist should consider this *required* reading.
This book changed how I think about revolutionary work, the history of class struggle, and existing global and Amerikan class structures in such a radical way. I am angry that most of what I’d believed up until reading this book was rooted in dishonest and self-serving white settler colonial propaganda. Those beliefs also reflected my own investment in upholding white settlerism, but I’m grateful that those illusions could be dispelled by this important work.
Any serious, principled leftist should consider this *required* reading.
October 18, 2021
Proletariat is proletariat: working class should be united (regardless of cultural or ethnic differences).
The error of this book is that it tries to make a posmodern revision of the marxist concept.
Let's not forget that the economic variable defines all the other social factors.
Also, it is pretty dangerous to appeal to a nationalist discourse.
The error of this book is that it tries to make a posmodern revision of the marxist concept.
Let's not forget that the economic variable defines all the other social factors.
Also, it is pretty dangerous to appeal to a nationalist discourse.
December 13, 2010
This book is very educational but is marred by several brainfarts on the author's part, for example when he rationalizes anti-Cossack racism in the USSR. A good alternative to A White Social-Democrat's History of the United States by Howard Zinn.
August 17, 2015
Very interesting read. Shows how there has never really been much of a white proletariat and how white america historically bought off it's poor to service of the elite by always making sure there was an underclass of non whites that the poorest could always look down on (or worse).
January 11, 2022
In short, read this book. Here is my stream of consciousness word vomit: Sakai defines the US oppressor nation as a patriarchal settler society and offers a strong analysis of the American labor aristocracy, the settler tradition of individualism, and the impact of settler unity in service of empire. He emphasizes the need to work instead toward proletarian internationalism and immediate trade union unity. Sakai demonstrates that white American prosperity (consumerism, luxury, comfort) exists on the backs of the working masses throughout the Global South and oppressed people within our own borders. We see the importance of combatting opportunist, reactionary, and racist tendencies in our movements, which have historically undermined European socialism and socialist efforts spearheaded by white workers in the United States. Sakai reminds us that the white proletariat in the U.S. largely consists of European settlers who bought into whiteness and ruling class propaganda, displaced Black, Indigenous, Asian, and Chicano workers, led racist labor movements, and corrupted the meaning of solidarity. In other words, they chose settlerism over socialism. Oof this is getting long. He shows how white capitalists in Europe and the U.S. gladly conceded certain rights and privileges to white workers as a way to undermine their revolutionary potential; offers a brilliant critique of the New Deal; exposes U.S. fascism in WWII; gives a consistent and scientific analysis of U.S. imperialism, and colonialism; shows a clear relationship between the U.S. settler state, the occupation of Palestine, and South African apartheid. Oh, and he draws important connections between Lenin and Malcom X's ideas regarding the lumpenproletariat and the necessity of opposing U.S. imperialism. Finally, Sakai illuminates the history of Black, Indigenous, Mexican, and Asian labor that popular accounts of labor history generally ignore or misrepresent.
October 12, 2017
Essential reading.
Two quotes:
"...what is poverty-stricken about settlers is their culture. The Euro-Amerikan coal miners are just concentrating on "getting theirs" while it lasts. In the settler tradition it's "every man for himself." They have no class goals or even community goals, just private goals involving private income and private consumerism."
"...there is nothing "benign" about imperialistic parasitism. The so-called world market is not a neutral trading ground, but a system of rigged transactions and economic crimes at gunpoint. There is a direct, one-to-one relationship between world hunger, mass unemployment, and proletarian "conditions approaching slavery" (to use the words of the Wall Street Journal) on the one hand, and a fortified Babylon filled with consumer decadence and arms factories on the other hand."
Two quotes:
"...what is poverty-stricken about settlers is their culture. The Euro-Amerikan coal miners are just concentrating on "getting theirs" while it lasts. In the settler tradition it's "every man for himself." They have no class goals or even community goals, just private goals involving private income and private consumerism."
"...there is nothing "benign" about imperialistic parasitism. The so-called world market is not a neutral trading ground, but a system of rigged transactions and economic crimes at gunpoint. There is a direct, one-to-one relationship between world hunger, mass unemployment, and proletarian "conditions approaching slavery" (to use the words of the Wall Street Journal) on the one hand, and a fortified Babylon filled with consumer decadence and arms factories on the other hand."
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