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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   31872 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of July 10, 2023

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You’re not allowed to treat cis people however you want either.

This reasoning would allow you to claim that a treatment is not identitarian by noticing that people want to act differently depending on some distinction. Just deny the distinction and claim it's equal treatment. "I believe in treating both Jews and non-Jews the same way. This treatment consists of forcing them to go to church." Or even the proverbial law that prevents both rich and poor people from sleeping under bridges.

So give me an example of a difference between political ideologies that you think is non-identitarian. Any two ideologies, doesn’t have to be alt right vs SJW left.

I gave several that I think qualify: identity as rooted vs fluid, willingness to accept hereditarian explanations for behavior, the degree to which the state can force individuals to undergo medical interventions for the collective good. Conversely, here’s an identitarian difference between two ideologies: the alt right wants to promote the interests of white people, black nationalists want to promote the interests of black people. So, I think that some things reduce down to identity, but not everything reduces down to identity.

Often when this topic comes up (“the left and the right are just the same with the races swapped!”), what seems to be underlying that sentiment is an implicit notion of “anyone who who isn’t a liberal individualist is really just caught up in the identitarian game, regardless of what else they claim to believe”. Do you endorse that view? I don’t think that’s a crazy view or anything (it’s reminiscent of how ethical positions basically break down into utilitarianism vs deontology I suppose), I just want to know where you’re coming from.

So give me an example of a difference between political ideologies that you think is non-identitarian

I can claim that your standard is flawed without also (nontrivially) claiming to have a better one.

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