I read a opinion piece yesterday, “The End of Identity Liberalism” published in the New York Times. It was 8 hours old with over 1200 comments. To put it lightly it touched a nerve and is deserving of wider consideration as we debate the path of our party going forward. There are many who would rather sweep these things under the rug and focus on fighting and to them I say we never stopped nor ever will.
I’m of the opinion that our message must be crafted to recapture moderates being tempted by extremists. To that end I think we ought consider the damage done by overly divisive approaches to identity politics.
When young people arrive at college they are encouraged to keep this focus on themselves by student groups, faculty members and also administrators whose full-time job is to deal with — and heighten the significance of — “diversity issues.” Fox News and other conservative media outlets make great sport of mocking the “campus craziness” that surrounds such issues, and more often than not they are right to. Which only plays into the hands of populist demagogues who want to delegitimize learning in the eyes of those who have never set foot on a campus.
- “The End of Identity Liberalism” NY Times
What matters in the long run is our ability to craft a unifying platform to counter this wave of white nationalism spreading around the Western world which America too just elected into office. I don’t think we can do this by doubling down on our divisive approaches to identity politics who’s litany of reprisals left people frustrated by ever evolving social faux pas and numb to trivialized conceptions of racism and sexism. Worse yet it’s readily exploited by these new Identitarian movements with demagogic identity threat narratives of their own appealing to whites left out by the left as a identity group unworthy of protection from others. Every time we fixate on some minority in danger they double down on the (post-truth) threat to the (white) majority they represent.
We need a post-identity liberalism, and it should draw from the past successes of pre-identity liberalism. Such a liberalism would concentrate on widening its base by appealing to Americans as Americans and emphasizing the issues that affect a vast majority of them. It would speak to the nation as a nation of citizens who are in this together and must help one another. As for narrower issues that are highly charged symbolically and can drive potential allies away, especially those touching on sexuality and religion, such a liberalism would work quietly, sensitively and with a proper sense of scale. (To paraphrase Bernie Sanders, America is sick and tired of hearing about liberals’ damn bathrooms.)
- “The End of Identity Liberalism” NY Times
Steve Bannon plans on doing just that (populist message of unity) while running a white nationalist agenda’s in the background.
“I’m an economic nationalist. I am an America first guy. And I have admired nationalist movements throughout the world, have said repeatedly strong nations make great neighbors. I’ve also said repeatedly that the ethno-nationalist movement, prominent in Europe, will change over time. I’ve never been a supporter of ethno-nationalism,” -Steve Bannon
The fight will be bringing these things to light so moderates see the wolf in sheep’s clothing. At the same time we need to signal new direction on the identity front. I think that’s best done by recognizing white struggles like the opioid epidemic, high non diploma white female mortality , white male suicide (70% of nations 40,000 a year total) as white issues. We must show we’re not against recognizing whites as people with problems we are willing to speak to.
Finally, the whitelash thesis is convenient because it absolves liberals of not recognizing how their own obsession with diversity has encouraged white, rural, religious Americans to think of themselves as a disadvantaged group whose identity is being threatened or ignored. Such people are not actually reacting against the reality of our diverse America (they tend, after all, to live in homogeneous areas of the country). But they are reacting against the omnipresent rhetoric of identity, which is what they mean by “political correctness.” Liberals should bear in mind that the first identity movement in American politics was the Ku Klux Klan, which still exists. Those who play the identity game should be prepared to lose it.
- “The End of Identity Liberalism” NY Times
Although Mark Lilla challenges the Whitelash thesis, he in part validates it by admitting that rural whites see themselves as a disadvantaged identity group. I don’t think these whites entirely wrong. They are disadvantaged by class as part of the 99%. If we willfully ignore their suffering we give them reason to do the same with others.
The politics of “privilege” ought be reserved for class arguments where the shoe fits without extensive education in social theories or historic contextualization. In the end class divides are we’re really focused on when it comes to disadvantaged ethnic minorities. Hyper focus on just their exceptional circumstances is certainly justified but ultimately ineffective politically. Compassion and concern can’t be exclusive to a select few minorities or women who are a demographic majority.
Embracing people of faith with a overtly Christian social justice messages fortified with “what would Jesus do” analogies. Fear of alienating other faiths or the non religious by doing so is overrated. Secular humanism is not the only viable path in a tolerant democracy. As a singular message it is too prone to becoming intolerant of faith. For other faiths we can incorporate their teachings as well. Don’t preach multiculturalism, practice it and demonstrate the power of diversity intellectual and otherwise. The people we must demand better of today are not those embracing faith but those who think mocking it makes them morally superior. This could also be applied to faith on faith attacks.
A post-identity liberalism would also emphasize that democracy is not only about rights; it also confers duties on its citizens, such as the duties to keep informed and vote. A post-identity liberal press would begin educating itself about parts of the country that have been ignored, and about what matters there, especially religion. And it would take seriously its responsibility to educate Americans about the major forces shaping world politics, especially their historical dimension.
We can do identity without a adversarial posturing and unify the silent moderate majority within a common class struggle. I don’t think abandoning identity all together is practical. We must fight with the army we have and it’s one built on identity struggle. That doesn’t mean we can’t make recognition of such struggles all inclusive and non adversarial.
Class warfare has been waged mostly unopposed for so long by plutocrats and oligarchs in large part because the left allowed identity become the central struggle of our times. Before we backslide off a cliff away from all the progress we’ve made on the identity front we need a course correction that will allow a solid majority to embrace shared values without being made to feel uncomfortable being themselves.
I’ll leave you with this excerpt from “The Coming Backlash against Identity Politics” written a full year earlier by Communist Jason Unruhe.
A backlash is coming, a backlash against transgender and other hyper liberal activism. Forces are growing that are coming forward with retaliation against them. The rise of Donald Trump, the expansion of Third Positionist ideology, racism, xenophobia, White terrorist shootings. This anger against hyper liberal PC culture is on its way right now. When it gets here, there is going to be a hell of a price to pay. Crimes against transgender have increased, and White terrorist shootings have increased. Mainstream political discussion is reaching into the idea of placing identification cards on Muslims à la Nazi Jewish persecution style. These reactionary forces are building up strength, and if you think Bernie Sanders is going to save you, you’re deluded. — “The Coming Backlash against Identity Politics”
The use of identity to divide and conquer is old as capitalism itself so we must forgo the temptation to hate identities or have our contempt exploited by White Nationalists forces using our hypocrisy to mainstream a far more destructive form of intolerance.