Identity Politics: Good or Bad?
Identity Politics
In order to understand and apply the concept, it is necessary to initially define the term identity politics. It is interpreted by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy as the discussion between groups who share a collective sense of unity through “shared experience of injustice” (n.d.). This unifies the people of the same gender, race, culture, religion, and other common identities.
Emergence of Identity Politics
In the year 1997, the Combahee River Collective Statement was established by the Combahee River Collective, a group of Black feminists who aims to achieve equality and abolish oppression (Smith, 2020). It is the unity and gathering of people into political movements in order to inform the majority of the injustices with the system towards the group.
Has Identity Politics Gone Too far?
Jonathan Haidt provided two kinds of identity politics, the good and the bad. The bad side of identity politics is that some people gather together to take aggressive action towards a person or group. This is contrary to the main goal of identity politics, which is to unite people in order to achieve equality. However, taking a stand against injustices should not mean stepping on other people in order to acquire it. One example of identity politics going out of hand is when the people completely disregard and close off people that have different opinions from them. This limits the progress with the society as everyone should be hearing the sides of the opposing group and respectfully educate them in order to reach a peaceful settlement.
On the positive perspective, identity politics allows the progressive and integration unity among the marginalized community. It allows people to speak out and freely express their opinions about their legal, social, or rights. The support from the group, provides people with courage to demand for equal access, provided that they are surrounded by those with the same beliefs. One example is the improvement in regards to women’s rights. The previous generations of women were not able to experience the same liberties as compared to the present generation. Back in the day, women were excluded from the community and did not even have the right to vote. However, with the unity of marginalized groups, they were able to rise up and stand against the inequality that was present in the society.
In conclusion, identity politics is neither generally good nor bad for the community. There should be certain limitations in regards to how this is utilised in order to maintain a peaceful discourse among the opposing group. Nevertheless, it provided voices for those who could not speak out and courage to those who could not stand up for themselves. When used with intelligent disposition and controlled regulation, it will help reshape and develop openness which can greatly contribute to the betterment of the community.
References:
BlackPast. (2019, August 29). (1977) the Combahee River Collective statement. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/combahee-river-collective-statement-1977/
The Dutch election suggests a new kind of identity politics. (2017, March 18). The Economist. https://www.economist.com/europe/2017/03/18/the-dutch-election-suggests-a-new-kind-of-identity-politics
Identity politics (Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy). (n.d.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-politics/
Smith, B. (2020, February 10). I helped coin the term ‘identity politics’. I’m endorsing Bernie Sanders | Barbara Smith. the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/10/identity-politics-bernie-sanders-endorsement
