Identity politics can be a good thing, it can also be one of the worse things in the world. Identity politics can be defined as "a tendency for people of a particular religion, race, social background, etc., to form exclusive political alliances, moving away from traditional broad-based party politics". This form of identity politics probably stems from a tribal instinct to promote yourself and those you have the most in common with. It may be a more basic instinct even than a tribal instinct. Think of a pride of lions or a pack of wolves working together to promote themselves and being very wary of outsiders.
Merriam Webster extends this basic definition of identity politics significantly:
politics in which groups of people having a particular racial, religious, ethnic, social, or cultural identity tend to promote their own specific interests or concerns without regard to the interests or concerns of any larger political group
This is the form of identity politics that is bad. In promoting our "own interests or concerns without regard to the interests or concerns" of others we tend to divide ourselves as a people and loose some of our humanity. In my opinion, a couple of examples of this type of identity politics include:
- The Black Lives Matter supporters criticizing the phrase "All lives matter". This criticism only tends to divide us as a people when some take the criticism as an indication of the belief that black lives matter more than the lives of the rest of the population.
- The outrage that occurs when a baker decides not to make a cake for a gay wedding over religious beliefs. Here again, the outrage only tends to divide us as it seems the religious freedoms of the baker get no consideration.
Here in the United States, our politicians in coordination with the press are using identity politics to generate as much division as possible in the country. From the Guardian article "How America's identity politics went from inclusion to division" a post from the American Conservative was presented that everyone should read.
I’m a white guy. I’m a well-educated intellectual who enjoys small arthouse movies, coffeehouses and classic blues. If you didn’t know any better, you’d probably mistake me for a lefty urban hipster.
And yet. I find some of the alt-right stuff exerts a pull even on me. Even though I’m smart and informed enough to see through it. It’s seductive because I am not a person with any power or privilege, and yet I am constantly bombarded with messages telling me that I’m a cancer, I’m a problem, everything is my fault.
I am very lower middle class. I’ve never owned a new car, and do my own home repairs as much as I can to save money. I cut my own grass, wash my own dishes, buy my clothes from Walmart. I have no clue how I will ever be able to retire. But oh, brother, to hear the media tell it, I am just drowning in unearned power and privilege, and America will be a much brighter, more loving, more peaceful nation when I finally just keel over and die.
Trust me: After all that, some of the alt-right stuff feels like a warm, soothing bath. A “safe space,” if you will. I recoil from the uglier stuff, but some of it— the “hey, white guys are actually okay, you know! Be proud of yourself, white man!” stuff is really VERY seductive, and it is only with some intellectual effort that I can resist the pull … If it’s a struggle for someone like me to resist the pull, I imagine it’s probably impossible for someone with less education or cultural exposure.
The post shows the impact of overly aggressive identity politics is having on some white people. To some extent, you can probably credit the election of President Trump to this feeling. The division in our nation has gotten to the point that we are no longer a group of people that are citizens on one nation but instead a splintered group of tribes all out for themselves.
An article from The Crimson, "Why I Don't Support Identity Politics Anymore", points how how identity politics has divided us. The last paragraph of the article does a great job of summing up that state identity politics has gotten us to:
Identity politics makes people feel better about themselves at the expense of productive discourse. A person’s lived experience should never be invalidated. But no identity makes the beliefs that someone derives from their lived experience automatically more correct. This is not just a logical fallacy that should be avoided on principle. In practice, it is actually a hindrance to persuading others. In a time of such polarization, identity politics makes us close ranks with the like-minded when we need to reach out.