[EggbertEinstein]

Also, I would say that the divide and rule stuff is not always about eclipsing class consciousness. Often it is about provoking it and misdirecting it. Maybe this is not the case in the USA but in the UK, railing against political correctness is something which has very much been done within the oligarch-controlled media, especially the tabloid newspapers. It is not something on the margins. The purpose of this is to create a strong sense of contempt of the working class towards intellectual and liberal "elites", of course directing the flak away from economic elites like the oligarch owners of the tabloids, who are often quite anti-intellectual and anti-liberal individuals. A good way of misdirectring class consciousness is to make it all about cultural capital. So contempt is encouraged towards cultural symbols of middle-classness in terms of matters of taste, such as expensive coffees and avocado on toast (this one is especially amusing to me having lived in Chile, where avocado is so cheap and common they serve it in hot dog vans alongside tomato sauce).

[LeftNationalist]

Einstein makes some good points.

I don't mean to give the impression that I am anti-individualist. I think he is correct that the problem isn't identity but the way identity is hijacked and politicized. I also agree very much that class-consciousness in society is confused, with the agitation of society's most vulnerable elements purposely misdirected into unproductive channels. The oligarchy can't stop them from lashing out in pain, but they can do their part to make sure it isn't productive towards the end of any real or lasting change.