ANTHROPOLOGICAL ESSAY

ANTHROPOLOGICAL ESSAY

Identity Politics

According to Erikson, the definition of identity politics is subjective in nature and changes with time. Identity politics is a form of political argument that focus upon the self-interest and ideologies of social interest groups. It also incorporates various ways through which individual's politics can be shaped and reshaped by different aspects of their identity in the form of ethnicity, race, religion, gender, culture, information preferences, medical conditions, profession, class and many more. It is not necessary that all the people present in the particular group are involved in identity politics (Erickson1999).

Although, social movements are long been in existence, but the social effects of their actions were clearly witnessed in the early part of 20th century. The social environment in this age gave rise to individualism and provides awareness about the rights of the common men and women and resulted in the social movements which raise their voices for class, feminism, gay rights etc and for the very first time made the ordinary people realize that they have the potential to change their circumstances without the help from their political leaders and governments (Erickson1999).

The primary objective of identity politics is to revive rooted traditions, passionate religious sentiments, and long term commitment to local and national identities. The advancements in technologies and media communication have turned the world into a global village. The fast speed of communications is enabling people interact with each other through internet on a daily basis. This form of virtual communications allows them not only to exchange socio-economic views but to get influenced by different cultures and traditions (Erickson1999).

Sometimes these views help them attain socio-economic progress through the process of learning and technology transfer as we have seen in India and China, which is the great example of how globalization helped them elevate their socio-economic standards of living (Erickson1999).

However, sometimes the global cultural exchange creates circumstances which have the potential to complicate social tensions among people from different backgrounds and force them to seek the alternative by force. Nowadays people are involved in identifying politics on a global level in order to protect their traditions and cultures from different communities living across the globe. Political movements are springing up everywhere, and their primary objective is to seek out ways to strengthen the collective sense of uniqueness and discourage sameness in society (Erickson1999).

For example, religious extremism and more specifically Islamic fundamentalists use identity politics to support their cause. They state that western imperialism in general and American foreign policy in particular is forcing Muslims around the world to shed of their traditions and culture and acquire western way of life. They believe that modern day technological advancements are having negative effects on the upcoming Muslim generation. Therefore, they demand the complete abolition of TV and movies in Muslim states since west can use it as their propagation medium to enforce their culture on Muslim society (Erickson1999).

Identity politics comes in different forms and is highly subjective in nature. Some are separatist ethnic movements which demand the ...