Dialogue to Build Up
I first encountered the idea of Identity Politics in the Fall of 2023 when we read Francis Fukuyama’s book Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment. At the time, the concept of Identity Politics left me with a kind of hopeless feeling. That’s not to say that I saw no good in the progress society has made; my lingering doubts had to do with questions about who gets to determine what is “good progress” vs. what is detrimental to society.
Because of those lingering doubts, I found Yascha Mounk’s book The Identity Trap to be a refreshing counterpoint to the metanarrative of Identity Politics. Preferring the term Identity Synthesis, Mounk links the development of this increasingly prevalent ideology to three intellectual traditions: Post-modernism, Post-colonialism and Critical Race Theory.[1] In reaction to the current direction of society, “Mounk maintains that it is possible to acknowledge the full force of injustices, and earnestly attempt to remedy them, without succumbing to the identity synthesis.” [2]
Mounk sets up two guardrails to avoid succumbing to the identity synthesis, and these are what I want to explore a bit in this post. Firstly, we separate the individual from the tribe. Secondly, we dialogue.
Admittedly, we all construct our identity partly around the tribe(s) to which we belong. My tribes might include female, Evangelical Anglican, (previously) Mennonite, missionary. But, as Mounk affirms, there is so much more to a person than simply his or her tribe. A person’s identity is as much as individual idiosyncrasies, unique traits as it is about the box he or she fits into. [3]
This recalls something that has stuck with me from Jonita’s post on Francis Fukuyama. In discussing identity, she said, “I am so many things, a beautiful and complex combination of many imperfect things.” [4] We subsequently discussed how labels and tribes almost become a façade; we don’t truly get to know each other if we just see each other as a member of this or that tribe. We certainly aren’t entering into genuine, holy community with others if we only see each other’s facades. We’re doomed to remain in a tribalism mentality.
To take this one step farther, tribalism or an overemphasis on group identity inevitably leads to “victim mentality and a pattern of destructive conflict. This is the trap to which Mounk refers in the title of his book, “Identity Trap.” [5] We also heard Daniel Lieberman speak to this during our cohort chat in November. He suggested that the best way to combat a destructive us-vs-them mentality is to get to know a member of another tribe. [6] It is much harder to exclude and hate a whole group of people when some of them are your friends.
Mounk’s second guardrail is open dialogue between opposing groups. Increasingly in recent years society seems to be going in a direction that “stifles individuals’ ability to engage in dialogue and debate about crucial social and cultural matters.” [7] Essentially, Mounk’s remedy is informed argument protected by free speech. He says, “free speech provides us with a way to continue the conversation… If you lose free speech, we also lose the tool to self-correct.” [8]
This is something that I am trying to carry into my leadership context, but it’s an up-and-down process. Sometimes I feel stifled in my dialogue and sometimes, I’m sad to admit, it’s me who stifles others. I am looking for creative ways to template this skill, as Eve Poole taught us. [9] And I’m open to suggestions, if anyone has any!
Keeping in mind these two principles, humanizing the other and honest dialogue, I’ll end with a final word from Mounk that I won’t soon forget. He said in an interview that I listened to, “It’s easy to criticize; it’s hard to build.” [10] That’s a good word that I need to hear and to heed. May I become someone who criticizes less and builds more.
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[1] Coleman Hughes, “Yascha Mounk on The Identity Trap,” September 30, 2023 in The Good Fight produced by Persuasion, podcast, (25.45) [1] Coleman Hughes, “Yascha Mounk on The Identity Trap,” September 30, 2023 in The Good Fight produced by Persuasion, podcast, (25.45) https://www.persuasion.community/p/mounk2#details
[2] Brian Stewart, “Mounk’s New Conviction,” Commentary (New York, United States: Commentary, November 2023).
[3] Coleman Hughes, “Yascha Mounk on The Identity Trap,” September 30, 2023 in The Good Fight produced by Persuasion, podcast, (11:15).
[4] Jonita Fair-Payton. https://blogs.georgefox.edu/dlgp/what-is-your-identity/
[5] THE IDENTITY TRAP: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time. Kirkus Reviews, 19487428, 8/1/2023, Vol. 91, Issue 15.
[6] Cohort chat via Zoom, November 27, 2023.
[7] Brian Stewart, “Mounk’s New Conviction,” Commentary (New York, United States: Commentary, November 2023).
[8] Coleman Hughes, “Yascha Mounk on The Identity Trap,” September 30, 2023 in The Good Fight produced by Persuasion, podcast.
[9] Eve Poole, Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership (London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2017).
[10] Coleman Hughes, “Yascha Mounk on The Identity Trap,” September 30, 2023 in The Good Fight produced by Persuasion, podcast. (40:05)
About the Author
Kim Sanford
6 responses to “Dialogue to Build Up”
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Hi Kim,
SO many wonderful points. As I approach the polarization of the U.S. Immigration debate, I am using Mounk/Fukuyama as digestive juices.
I love the quote…”It’s easy to criticize; it’s hard to build.” At our Immigration Symposium on March 9th, I will be faced with “building something.”
Thanks for your thoughts.
Shalom.
Kim,
Great post!
You quoted Mounk when he said that “tribalism or an overemphasis on group identity inevitably leads to victim mentality and a pattern of destructive conflict.”
I see that. At the same time I sometimes wonder whether dominant culture (white, European, male) created some of the conditions for tribalism? In other words, if you have been marginalized or abused for a trait or culture or context finding safety and community in others like you seems vital. And if the dominant ‘class’ continues to distance that tribe, the ‘overemphasis’ on tribal identity could be traced back to a response to dominant actions and attitudes of those with power?
I’m not suggesting there is not a way forward or that it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a real trap here, but I’m hesitant to point fingers in other directions before really assessing where ‘my tribe’ has been a part of the problem.
In other words, I’m doing my best to not criticize but contructively build, and it seems like owning up to part of the problem (though some would call you woke because of it) is a good way to start.
Does that make sense? (By the way, this isn’t a critique of your post, it’s just where thinking about your post took me).
That absolutely makes sense. I so admire your humility and the fact that you’re leading your church to find that same posture of humility. I don’t know if this is a relevant connection, but what comes to mind as I read your thoughts is the Rwandan genocide of 1994. While that may seem like ancient history, it’s something I’ve revisited over the past few years as we had a Rwandan man in our church. My point is I’m not sure there’s anything inherent in the white, European background that leads to domination and thereby setting the scene for tribalism; I think it has more to do with Power and those in power falling into the trap of sinful human nature when they grasp tightly and abuse their power. Thoughts?
Agreed. It’s not inherent in the race or nationality but in the historical power structures and systems that creates. That’s an important point to make. Thanks.
Kim-
I really like your overview of this week’s reading.
One nugget I am taking away from your post is how you synthesized a whole lot of truth to this little phrase: “labels and tribes almost become a façade; we don’t truly get to know each other if we just see each other as a member of this or that tribe.”
Absolutely. We have to find the tension of honoring both the richness of the collective AND the intricacies of the individual.
A strong take-away from your post is this: “It’s easy to criticize; it’s hard to build.”
Just yesterday my wife and I (along with our missionary kids in Graz, Austria) were musing on what has changed in us as we’ve gotten older. I, I’m sure like so many aging adults, find themselves getting short-fused, critical and judgmental. I see it creeping up in me periodically, and I actively try to bring it under submission.
I know that I am an “encourager” by nature – it’s my native language, but yet, as I age, I get more and more critical/negative. Gosh, I don’t like that in me.
Again, today, I am going to CHOOSE the hard way of building others up, not the easy way of criticizing.
Thanks for that nudge.