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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
Good summary of the politics of identity, mainly focusing on modern issues of immigration and shared values. Normative claims closer to the end made sense for the most part, yet the author seemed to overlook potential issues to his solutions.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This was a lecture did for a research and it really worked for me because is a complete deep dive into identity, from greek philosophy to politics. It could get a bit repetitive or it can get much into history, if you are not into that, but it really gets the message across. I was going through a lot of internal questions about identity and I think I found some really good answers.
het bewijs dat je op de schouders van reuzen kan staan en nog steeds keihard met je gezicht in de modder kan vallen
The more I read Fukuyama, the more I feel his understanding of anything he writes on is very limited or constricted. He would choose an interesting topic, starts off well but someway in between, loses pace or the track itself. I also feel his understanding of political concept still carries a lot of western bias.
For this book, everything was okay-ish as long as the diagnosis of the issue is concerned(sure, it had its own flaws) but I was left really unimpressed with the solutions he proposed.
For this book, everything was okay-ish as long as the diagnosis of the issue is concerned(sure, it had its own flaws) but I was left really unimpressed with the solutions he proposed.
Political centrist (maybe Just slightly left of centrist?) Francis Fukuyama offers his critique on the rise of identity politics from the moment Martin Luther nailed his opinions on a door to the globalised society of the present day. Fukuyama sets out to rationalise the splintering of left wing politics into ever smaller cadres competing over degrees of marginalisation, and the resurgence of a hard-right that manages to suppress their individual differences in order to to be really mean to people. And to a degree he succeeds.
In order for his thesis to work however, he has a tendency to overlook some stuff. Firstly- he identifies radical Islam as being an international movement while absolutely failing to identify a corollary in pan national white militant christian organisations. He identifies the resurgence of nationalism- but in terms of the west he confines the allegiance to individual nation states ignoring the validity of a European derived "traditional" western hegemonic cultural identity that transcends borders. This is just one (not unexpected) example of an inherent bias toward English/American models of participatory nationalist democracy. There are others.
Then in his solutions he spruiks the continuing need for a shared national identity as long as the world continues to be nation states. Fair enough.
One of his primary mechanisms for achieving this though, is compulsory national service- civil or military. Having already identified in his first chapter the disenfranchisement of voters across the political spectrum. How are we, as citizens, to give our service into the hands of a political class without being able to trust that our lives would not be squandered, or our labour not be used to further enrich those who already hold a massively disproportionate amount of capital and resources? Short answer is that we can't. So where to then?
In order for his thesis to work however, he has a tendency to overlook some stuff. Firstly- he identifies radical Islam as being an international movement while absolutely failing to identify a corollary in pan national white militant christian organisations. He identifies the resurgence of nationalism- but in terms of the west he confines the allegiance to individual nation states ignoring the validity of a European derived "traditional" western hegemonic cultural identity that transcends borders. This is just one (not unexpected) example of an inherent bias toward English/American models of participatory nationalist democracy. There are others.
Then in his solutions he spruiks the continuing need for a shared national identity as long as the world continues to be nation states. Fair enough.
One of his primary mechanisms for achieving this though, is compulsory national service- civil or military. Having already identified in his first chapter the disenfranchisement of voters across the political spectrum. How are we, as citizens, to give our service into the hands of a political class without being able to trust that our lives would not be squandered, or our labour not be used to further enrich those who already hold a massively disproportionate amount of capital and resources? Short answer is that we can't. So where to then?
The book unlocks the history of identity politics to the future based on different thinkers and examples existent around the same. Identity and the movements associated with it is largely prevalent throughout the contemporary world that primarily boils down to the protection of emotion of pride and dignity, be it in case of Indian BJP movement or in the wars between Israel Palestine. This tends to pose multiple repercussions given the liberal purview it has, often indicating growth as it's positive side yet the recession caused in the developed nations posed by it.
A book talking about the politics of resentment, dignity and identity which was difficult to be put down. Extremely insightful and critical.
Definitely the best read to end 2023!
A book talking about the politics of resentment, dignity and identity which was difficult to be put down. Extremely insightful and critical.
Definitely the best read to end 2023!
Interesting read, good reflection on the times but lacked originality.
Ever wonder what the term "identity politics" means? This book gives a breakdown of the meaning. It takes you back to humanity's most famous philosophers and how we understand that every human needs to be shown dignity and respect. Ultimately, identity politics arises when a group of same minded people feel like they are losing those values in society. The book suggests that instead of identifying ourselves together as Christian, straight, gay, white, black, etc. we should be working together and identify ourselves as supporters of democracy and pride in our nation.