I think people need to define "identity politics" a bit better before they are allowed to write articles on it. I think it's fair to say, according to Fukuyama, "politics" is what used to happen, whereas "identity politics" is what happens now. foreignaffairs.com/articles/ameri…
For instance, he writes, "For the most part, twentieth-century politics was defined by economic issues." I think an Americanist would tell you, 20th C Am politics was rife with "identity politics" in that it was about the rights of various marginalized groups in Am politics.
For instance, the Democratic Party's eventual embrace of civil rights as an important part of their party platform in the 1960s would cause a fundamental reshuffling in the American political parties and who voted for them, a profound development that we are still seeing
the effects of today (!). According to Fukuyama, "Identity politics is no longer a minor phenomenon, playing out only in the rarified confines of university campuses or providing a backdrop to low-stakes skirmishes in “culture wars” promoted by the mass media." I just don't think
this makes much sense unless "identity politics" is defined as "what minorities care about" and "politics" is what white men got to do for centuries but was not of course identity politics, just like "white" is not an identity, it's just default for "human". This does not mean
that group "identity"is not an important part of the current political crisis in the West - it is. Particularly, the rise (again) of white nationalism is clearly dangerous to western liberal democracy. The topic doesn't lend itself to simplistic categories or easy solutions.
But nor does it further the understanding of where our politics are today, in the era of Trump, to argue that "identity" is what Other people have, and "politics" is what white people do. Perhaps that is not what Fukuyama means, but I am not sure his usage of the term is helpful.
Oh, and as for the following assertion: "But perhaps the worst thing about identity politics as currently practiced by the left is that it has stimulated the rise of identity politics on the right." 1. White nationalism is not new. AND:
2. I'll just leave this link here: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book…
Terribly sorry for the link to Fukuyama’s article in Foreign Affaris not working. Here it is again: foreignaffairs.com/articles/ameri…
