Didier Eribon's Autobiographical Approach in the Context of Contemporary Discussions On Class Identity

Abstract

This article focuses on the concept of class identity in the context of recent social and political transformations which can in part account for the rapid growth of support for right-wing populism among the European and American working class. For these purposes I will turn to a number of important works on this subject, with Didier Eribon's Returning to Reims as a focal point for the discussion. This book has been at the centre of public debates in Europe in recent years, and it allows us to consider key problems for the strategy of the left in their interrelation: the role of social structures in shaping the subject, the "conservative turn” in the official left discourse and its influence on "class identity”. Moreover, the issues raised by Eribon prompt us to reflect on the relevance of the concepts of "class” and "class struggle”, as well as theoretical and practical problems immanent to these categories. As Perry Anderson, Etienne Balibar, Gáspár Miklós Tamás and others show: while maintaining the existing mode of production, it is impossible to completely dismiss class as a structural category. That is, "class” will continue to exist and function even if nobody talks about "class” any longer. Nevertheless, due to the mediation of culture or discourse, the social and political dimensions of this category turn out to be quite flexible (moreover, they should remain such in order for class not to become a "myth”). It is "class” that could be used as the reference point for the current debate on left politics and the problems related to restoring the unity of social theory and political action.