Identity in Democracy

Are identity politics a needed defense against the tyranny of the majority, or a divisive impediment to the realization of individual rights and the common good? A little of both, and much more, according to this probing volume of political theory. Gutmann, a political philosopher, examines a wide variety of""identity groups"" including religions, embattled cultural groups like French-Canadians, socially formative voluntary groups like the Boy Scouts; and""ascriptive groups"" who bear an involuntary marker of difference, like racial minorities, homosexuals and the disabled. She argues that overlapping group identities are an inescapable part of every individual's political makeup, for good and ill. Identity groups have been in the forefront of efforts to expand individual rights and opportunity, she notes, and America's excessive economic inequality is in part due to the absence of a working-class identity politics that might bolster unions and demand more redistribution of wealth. On the other hand, identity groups like the Ku Klux Klan and orthodox religious groups that seek to curtail the rights of women pose a serious problem for democratic polities. Rather than being scapegoated or lumped in with other interest groups, identity groups must be carefully assessed to discern their alignment with fundamental democratic values of freedom, equality and opportunity. Gutmann's is a serious attempt to reconcile classical liberalism with contemporary multiculturalism. While it will not please ideologues on any side, her clear, nuanced and humane approach brings many valuable insights to this contentious debate.