identity politics

While it is sometimes useful for individuals to unite under some banner of a shared “identity” (for example, the gay rights movement), it is nevertheless always unfortunate that we need to resort to such measures. This is because identity politics too quickly becomes about what you (and others) are not, instead of what you are. We don’t need a politics of identity to be worth taking seriously, and assuming a convenient political identity can instead get in the way of long-term credibility.