A Leftist Critique of the Principles of Identity, Diversity, and Multiculturalism

(Hardback)

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Identity politics is a lightning rod in American society. To both its progressive supporters and conservative critics, it is seen as defining the agenda of the Left. Both sides are wrong. Identity politics is not a leftist project. Instead it enables the neoliberal political economy that has caused historic levels of inequality and triggered repression and mass incarceration to deal with the social wreckage. Identity politics is a form of biological essentialism, impeding morality built upon universal humanism and politics built upon solidarity. Unlike the conservative assaults, this book avoids the trivial and silly pronouncements of identity politics (a term generally avoided in the work as loaded and pejorative). It challenges the following key elements of the Identity, Diversity, and Multiculturalism Program: Diversity as Justicethe most important struggle for justice today is increasing the representation throughout society of individuals from historically marginalized groups by ending discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation, and similar characteristics; Colorblindness as Racismrace-neutral solutions to the problems caused by racism are harmful to blacks; Race as Culturemembers of different races, specifically blacks and whites in the United States, belong to different cultures; Culture as Virtuecultures should be respected and celebrated. This book forcefully argues that none of these tenets isor rather should bea leftist commitment. For progressives already suspicious of those principles, this work offers a cogent set of responses to the unfounded accusations of racism, sexism, and so on that frequently restrict critical discussion of the topic. For progressives who accept the principles, it poses a challenge: How do you defend them from a leftist critique, one that does not deny the continuing significance of discrimination, rather than from the weaker attacks of the Right For those on the Right, it represents a threat. The liberal focus on identity allows conservatives to define politics as largely a symbolic project. Once leftists return to their core commitments they will form a powerful movement for political and economic change.

Reviews

Richard Anderson-Connolly has given us a trenchant and controversial work that questions deeply held progressive beliefs and assumptions. Confronting the problems of economic inequality and the limits of identity politics in dealing with it should make his book required reading for activists and academics alike. -- Stephen Bronner, Rutgers University

Author Bio

Richard Anderson-Connolly is professor of sociology and anthropology at the University of Puget Sound.