Identity Politics Is 'An Enemy Of Reason'

Steven Pinker is launching a new book, entitled Enlightenment Now, which charts the economic and social progress of the past few centuries. In this wide-ranging interview with Adam Rubenstein, Pinker takes on identity politics and explains why it is at odds with the Enlightenment project. 

For Pinker, the problem with identity politics is that it is rooted in group identity rather than individual identity. It presumes that "people’s beliefs and interests are assumed to be determined by their membership in groups, particularly their sex, race, sexual orientation, and disability status". Pinker discusses how this is at odds with the Enlightenment principle of sympathy and universal rights. 

Pinker also points out the extent to which the modern university has been affected by backlash (or the fear of backlash) from the right. For instance:

… many right-wingers tell each other that the near-consensus among scientists on human-caused climate change is a conspiracy among politically correct academics who are committed to a government takeover of the economy. This is sheer nonsense, but it can gain traction when the noisiest voices in the academy are the repressive fanatics.