identity politics

Identity politics It refers to a position or movement that forms political demands and solidarity based on the "identity group" to which one belongs, such as race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, and class. It is characterized by starting from a sense of belonging that "we are a party to ____" rather than conventional ideologies (left/right, labor- capital conflicts, etc.).

historical background

• The starting point was the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and Second Wave Feminism of the 1960s and 1970s. Because the existing mass movements were white male-centered, the Black Liberation Movement and women's lib emphasized the need to "speak with their own voice.
• The 1980s saw the rise of "minority studies" and queer theory in academia, mutually reinforcing political practice and theory.
• Since the 1990s, in conjunction with multiculturalism and postcolonial theory, there has been an expansion of frameworks that call for "recognition of difference" and institutional considerations (e.g., affirmative action).

Main Purpose

• Ensure representativeness
  • If there are an unreasonably small number of parties of the same group in parliament, business, and the media, demand a quota system or recruitment targets.
• Correction of systemic inequalities
  • anti-discrimination laws, same-sex marriage legislation, etc., to eliminate the structural disadvantages suffered by certain groups through legislation.
• CULTURAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT
  • Emphasis on "symbolic justice" such as countering stereotypes and hate speech, revising history textbooks, and establishing memorial days.

Criticisms and Issues

• criticism of universalism
  • There is a danger of fragmenting solidarity by prioritizing partial interests over the "whole of society" (e.g., Francis Fukuyama).
• essentialist criticism
  • When we speak of "women," "blacks," etc. in a single category, we tend to ignore the inherent diversity (see Kimberly Crenshaw's discussion of intersectionality).
• Populism Criticism
  • Emotional victimization may create over-mobilization and weaken rational discussion.
• backlash
  • Pointing out that white workers and majority males feel "reverse discrimination" and reinforce right-wing populism.

summary While identity politics has the power to put the invisible voices of those involved on the political agenda, it also entails the risk of fragmenting society and deepening conflicts. In practice, the core issue is how to balance the "recognition of difference" and the "construction of the common good.

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