How can racism and sexism be effectively resisted? Much of the left today treats oppression as separate struggles between competing “identity groups”, encouraging suspicion rather than solidarity. Identity politics argues, for example, that white people should step back from debates about fighting racism and defer to those with “lived experience”. Marxists reject this approach because it weakens collective struggle against a common enemy. Different forms of oppression help maintain the central divide in society: between a ruling class minority and the exploited majority. This session will examine the impact of identity politics on left-wing movements and why Marxists argue that working-class politics is the key to advancing struggles for liberation.