Philosophical Shorts

What is Identity Politics?

Exploring the real meaning behind this term

I think Jordan Peterson was the first person who I heard use the term identity politics and he seemed convinced that it was a negative influence in society. As it goes with many things Peterson says, I found his use of that language confusing and unclear. Ever since, I’ve refrained from using it myself because I have, until only recently, found the term impossible to define.

I’ve heard both Ta-Nehisi Coates and Robin DiAngelo refer to identity politics as a non-issue. Coates said in a talk several years ago that “all politics are identity politics,” and he gave the example of senior citizens who vote based on a candidate’s stance on Medicare. DiAngelo opens her book, White Fragility, by referring to the women’s suffrage movement as an example of identity politics. What’s wrong with that? She wonders on the first page.

Their comments are in line with a very technical definition like the one given in the dictionay: a tendency for people of a particular religion, race, social background, etc., to form exclusive political alliances, moving away from traditional broad-based party politics. But that definition doesn’t show us why the term is often used so pejoratively.