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Identity politics is a lightning rod in American society. To both
its progressive supporters and conservative critics, it is seen as
defining the agenda of the Left. Both sides are wrong. Identity
politics is not a leftist project. Instead it enables the
neoliberal political economy that has caused historic levels of
inequality and triggered repression and mass incarceration to deal
with the social wreckage. Identity politics is a form of biological
essentialism, impeding morality built upon universal humanism and
politics built upon solidarity. Unlike the conservative assaults,
this book avoids the trivial and silly pronouncements of identity
politics (a term generally avoided in the work as loaded and
pejorative). It challenges the following key principles of the
Identity, Diversity, and Multiculturalism Program: Diversity as
Justice—the most important struggle for justice today is
increasing the representation throughout society of individuals
from historically marginalized groups by ending discrimination on
the grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation, and similar
characteristics; Colorblindness as Racism—race-neutral solutions
to the problems caused by racism are harmful to blacks; Race as
Culture—members of different races, specifically blacks and
whites in the United States, belong to different cultures; Culture
as Virtue—cultures should be respected and celebrated. This book
forcefully argues that none of these tenets is—or rather should
be—a leftist commitment. For progressives who accept the
principles, it poses a challenge: How do you defend them from a
leftist critique, one that does not deny the continuing
significance of discrimination, rather than from the weaker attacks
of conservatives? For those on the Right, this work represents a
threat. Once leftists return to their core commitments they will
form a powerful movement for political and economic change.
Identity politics is a lightning rod in American society. To both
its progressive supporters and conservative critics, it is seen as
defining the agenda of the Left. Both sides are wrong. Identity
politics is not a leftist project. Instead it enables the
neoliberal political economy that has caused historic levels of
inequality and triggered repression and mass incarceration to deal
with the social wreckage. Identity politics is a form of biological
essentialism, impeding morality built upon universal humanism and
politics built upon solidarity. Unlike the conservative assaults,
this book avoids the trivial and silly pronouncements of identity
politics (a term generally avoided in the work as loaded and
pejorative). It challenges the following key elements of the
Identity, Diversity, and Multiculturalism Program: Diversity as
Justice-the most important struggle for justice today is increasing
the representation throughout society of individuals from
historically marginalized groups by ending discrimination on the
grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation, and similar
characteristics; Colorblindness as Racism-race-neutral solutions to
the problems caused by racism are harmful to blacks; Race as
Culture-members of different races, specifically blacks and whites
in the United States, belong to different cultures; Culture as
Virtue-cultures should be respected and celebrated. This book
forcefully argues that none of these tenets is-or rather should
be-a leftist commitment. For progressives already suspicious of
those principles, this work offers a cogent set of responses to the
unfounded accusations of racism, sexism, and so on that frequently
restrict critical discussion of the topic. For progressives who
accept the principles, it poses a challenge: How do you defend them
from a leftist critique, one that does not deny the continuing
significance of discrimination, rather than from the weaker attacks
of the Right? For those on the Right, it represents a threat. The
liberal focus on identity allows conservatives to define politics
as largely a symbolic project. Once leftists return to their core
commitments they will form a powerful movement for political and
economic change.
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