Society’s Identity Crisis

How people see themselves has always been a key factor in the political struggle for a better society. For reactionaries, their arbitrary dominance over others can be more effectively preserved if most people identify with their assigned position in a highly unequal hierarchy. For progressives, by contrast, the challenge to overturn neglect, oppression and exploitation, becomes stronger as people view themselves as fellow citizens united in pursuit of their common good. In recent decades, the reactionaries have gained the upper hand because a range of identity problems have, inadvertently or deliberately, been stirred up – undermining the civic solidarity that is vital for the progressive cause.

One notable strand of this societal identity crisis is the antipathy shown towards any pluralist conception of ‘belonging’. Under primitive conditions, people may well feel that belonging to their tribe is the be all and end all of their lives, and their assigned role in the tribe encapsulates their identity. As a result of social evolution, however, each of us can now identify strongly with different groups, institutions, characteristics, cultures, and rituals, and still recognise our shared citizenship in a sovereign state. But the fashionable rejection of pluralism means that people are expected to immerse themselves in one monolithic identity – defined by a narrow ethnic profile, religious affiliation, some parochial accent and customs, plus whatever other arbitrary features picked out by those promoting their version of ‘true Brits’, ‘real Americans’, etc. This outlook blatantly ignores the fact that multicultural development is at the heart of all our identities. Those who hark back to ‘their’ Anglo-Saxon roots forget that Angles and Saxons were different tribes that not only in time integrated with each other, but also with Celts, Normans, Danes, and others from the Mediterranean and the many different Commonwealth countries.

Another strand flows from the formation of exclusionary group identities that in effect divert efforts from tackling perpetrators of discrimination and abuse, and channel them instead towards divisive generalisations. Ethnic minorities are rallied to stand up against ‘Whites’, while white people who are themselves badly treated are urged to direct their frustration against ‘Minorities’. Women are encouraged to see ‘Men’ as the aggressors, while men who have suffered injustice themselves are goaded into regarding ‘Women’ as being unfairly favoured at every turn. Such crude, and often manipulative, divisions into rival camps can also be found in relation to religion, sexuality, age, class, nationality, and numerous other factors. Their net impact is to corrode common civic bonds and leave individuals more susceptible to siren calls to detest/resent/oppose the ‘enemy’ group.

Furthermore, the obsession with having an absolute identity fuels demands for stringent demarcations. Instead of focussing on battling those who mistreat others because of the latter’s biological, cultural, or some other characteristics, people have their attention directed towards protecting their ‘identity’ from being diluted by ‘interlopers’ who must never be allowed to become one of them. Thus people who rejoice in celebrating a culture not traditionally associated with their ethnic lineage are castigated for trying to appropriate something that ‘belongs’ to others. People who undergo gender reassignment are warned that their previous biological history render them unacceptable to be members of whichever gender they have sought to transition to. Such rigid delineations end up pushing aside issues that deserve serious consideration, and leaving behind immovable obstacles to any cooperative quest for solutions.

Progressives have too often in the past hesitated in promoting the value of civic identity, and supporting its teaching to raise awareness and understanding of how citizens are to unite to secure the common good, their mutual respect, and protection for their diversity. The resultant vacuum has drawn in both misguided demarcations and malicious divisiveness. To cure society’s identity crisis, we must revive our civic identity and champion a pluralist culture that brings together the best in all outlooks and traditions, as the only sensible foundation of long-term solidarity.