The Identity Trap

The origins, consequences, and limitations of an ideology that has quickly become highly influential worldwide.

For much of their history, societies have violently oppressed ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities. It is no surprise that many who passionately believe in social justice have come to think that members of marginalized groups need to take pride in their identity if they are to resist injustice.

But over the past decades, a healthy appreciation for the culture and heritage of minorities has transformed into an obsession with group identity in all its forms, one that has quickly become influential around the world. A new ideology - which Yascha Mounk terms the 'identity synthesis' - seeks to put each citizen's matrix of identities at the heart of social, cultural, and political life. This, he argues, is the Identity Trap.

Mounk traces the intellectual origins, consequences, and limitations of these ideas, explaining how they have won tremendous power over the past decade and why their application to areas from education to public policy is proving to be deeply counterproductive. In his passionate plea for universalism and humanism, he argues that the proponents of identitarian ideas will, though they may be full of good intentions, make it harder to achieve progress toward genuine equality

This awareness of difference is essential in an effective managerial and leadership culture because the leadership cadre cannot communicate in a way that embraces the very differences that go up to making the tapestry of the organization, the possibility of effective execution of plans and achievement of goals will be compromised.

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