Lowe Article Response

               The Lowe article speaks about the plight of Asian American citizenship and social inclusion in the American political sphere. I enjoyed learning that the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. was designed by a Chinese American Maya Ying Lin. Ms. Ying Lin helped to create one of the most standout memorials in U.S. History. However, Ms. Ying Lin encountered some stiff resistance from Veterans and Veteran's organizations. Lowe goes on to prove that the interaction from white dominated American society and America's historical exclusion of Asians from the discourse of American society has impacted positively on the Asian American community and negatively impacted the relationship of American interests in the Asian hemisphere. The reading reminds me of a topic of much discussion in my Sociology class at Santiago Canyon College. The topic it reminds me of, is that regarding the U.S. treatment of African Americans up through the colonization of the North American continent. The use of African American labor without the inclusion into American society or citizenship including harsh treatment is considered slavery. The treatment of Asian Americans through much of the developmental period of American history includes many of the same injustices.

                  This treatment of Asian immigrants by the United States is best described by Karl Marx in the 1860s:

"Theoretically, in a racially homogeneous nation, the needs of capital and the needs of the state complement each other. Yet in a racially differentiated nation such as the United States, capital and state imperatives may be contradictory: capital, with its supposed needs for "abstract labor," is said by Marx to be unconcerned by the "origins" of its labor force, whereas the nation-state, with its need for "abstract citizens" formed by a unified culture to participate in the political sphere, is precisely concerned to maintain a national citizenry bound by race, language, and culture" (Lowe 13). 

This says to us that the United States being a racially, ethnically, culturally diversified nation is at odds with the needs of the economic, political and societal systems. Marx mentions "capital: with its supposed needs for "abstract labor" is unconcerned for the "origins" of its labor force."(Lowe 13). Such abstract labor could be found in the abundance of immigrant workers. However, capital's need for abstract labor includes ethnically, culturally, and socially diverse people. Capital or the economic system becomes at odds with the society which in turn lends it support and control over the political system. Marx says "the nation-state, with its need for "abstract citizens" formed by a unified culture to participate in the political sphere, is precisely concerned to maintain a national citizenry bound by race, language, and culture"(Lowe 13). This definition lends itself quite well to the United States secular political system. The national citizenry controls and participates in the national political system which in turn looks to maintain a national identity encompassing race, language and culture. This is but the tip of the iceberg regarding the treatment of subjugated races and ethnicities in American history, but I believe that this explanation may shed some light regarding the American treatment of Asian Americans.

Works Cited:

Lowe, Lisa. Immigrant Acts: on Asian American Cultural Politics. Durham: Duke UP, 1996. LMU Eres. Web. 21 Jan. 2011.