NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
ERIC Number: ED452435
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2001-Apr-13
Pages: 23
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Achievement Ideology and Whiteness: "Achieving Whiteness" or "Achieving Middle Class?"
Allen, Ricky Lee
Over the past few decades, social reproduction theorists have criticized achievement ideology as a dominant and dominating myth that hides the true nature of class immobility. Social reproductionists' primary criticism of achievement ideology is that it blinds the working class, regardless of race or gender, to the possibilities of collective social action against capitalism. Although Marxist scholars only include race as an outcome of or afterthought to capitalism, there have been attempts to add race to the field of social reproduction theory. The problem of whiteness still haunts workers' struggles in that white Marxists tend to believe that a primary focus on race draws attention away from class analysis and class unity. By beginning their analysis with their focus on achieving middle class status, reproductionists miss a depth of knowledge on the larger force of achieving whiteness on working-class whites. Reproductionists argue that the working class exists because it allows the middle class to be regenerated. A similar argument can be made for race, namely, that it is a social construction and not a biological reality. Achievement ideology can no longer be perceived solely in terms of achieving middle class status. It must instead be viewed in more race-focused terms. (Contains 25 references.) (MN)
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A