The identity politics that permeates our public life will destroy the United States if it has not already remade it into something that is destined to fall of its own weight. In the just published Winter issue of the Claremont Review of Books, Hillsdale’s David Azzerad reviews Mary Eberstadt’s new book on identity politics. The book comprises a short monograph by Eberstadt along with responses by Rod Dreher of the American Conservative, Mark Lilla of Columbia University, and the entrepreneur, investor, and contrarian thinker Peter Thiel, as well as a final rejoinder by the author.
Azzerad reviews the book in “Who’s your daddy?” Eberstadt argues that the rise of identity politics is causally related to the collapse of the family. Azzerad summarizes her argument and briefly responds: “The deafening scream of our age is less a heartfelt desire to belong than a neo-puritanical, fanatical desire to rid the world of sin, punish the guilty, and proclaim one’s innocence before all. Ultimately, identity politics is perhaps better understood as a replacement for Christianity rather than for the family.” Azzerad elaborates on his view of the subject in the Law & Liberty column “Social justice rites.”
STEVE adds: In case you missed it last summer, you can hear our podcast with Mary about her book here.
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