The implied superiority and self-importance of the Western worker
When the term “worker exploitation” is uttered, who first comes to mind?
For many White Western Leftists (who I will subsequently refer to as WWLs), it is not the Global South they consider. It is not the workers in the Congo who come to mind, nor those in Sudan, Somalia, Tonga, Vanuatu, or Yemen. Rather, it is they themselves; many WWLs truly and seriously see themselves as the very epitome of despair.
Of course, this is not a blanket condemnation of all leftists living in the West, nor do I wish to “rank” human suffering and exploitation. Marxist internationalism calls for the transcendence of all workers of the world—in the West, the East, and the Global South.
Yet it is difficult to ignore the fact that there is undoubtedly a hierarchy within WWL worldviews, themselves built upon white-centric systems.
WWLs often assume their experience is the default/baseline or the most important, which in turn becomes a form of self‑victimization, a belief that their suffering is the primary lens through which global capitalism should be understood. This ignorant reversal distorts internationalist analysis and leads directly to paternalization.
Western leftism and neocolonialism
The neocolonial thought processes prevalent within WWL circles is rather well-documented.
As ArtxAlgeriaxAfnan wrote in “White Leftists are Colonial Too” (an article I highly recommend reading):
The White Leftist’s orientation towards the imperially peripheral nations is rooted in a Divine Chain of Being, an Evolutionary ladder of civilisation. White Europeans are the Civilised. Next is the Olive and Brown Muhammedans and the Yellow- the Barbarians. And at the bottom is the Black Savage, to whom enslavement is the exclusive reserve.
My belief is that coloniality is more than the material reality, although material mechanisms are certainly important. Coloniality is also a mindset. Which is why Leftists, who do not control the mechanisms of the state, are also colonial. Because, no, this mindset is not just a logical result of the Capitalist machinery of the state. You will notice when interacting with White leftists that their flavour of coloniality is different.
Intersectionality and lived experiences
While I will reiterate that I do not in any way support liberal identity politics, Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality and Dilthey’s of lived experiences are still both valid and relevant. A white Westerner lacks the lived experience of a racialized minority, regardless of politics.
This creates a structural divide in perspective. A WWL can only describe the horrors of ethnic-based structural discrimination, while a racialized minority lives this reality daily.
It is as if we live in two separate worlds, allowing the WWLs the position of a neutral arbiter and, in many cases, that of a saviour.
Part of the problem with the white leftist is, they aren’t just colonial they are settlers dreaming of revolutions. They will never have on land they stole and doesn’t belong to them anyway.
You're spot on, without intersectional and international solidarity WWL's are just class conscious liberals in effect. Even with aforementioned solidarity reaping of the imperial spoils happens and results in a comfortable position of relative safety compared to what's possible in the global South and for bipoc nieghbors. This safety or fear of being uncomfortable rather results in taking the easier and less effective path. I suppose it's on a person to person bases but education of these things are available with enough digging thanks to the internet which makes me feel like it's more of a conscious liberal like choice than bad luck with research.