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Reader question: What does “identity politics” mean exactly? My comments: Identity, as in individual identity, is what differentiates one individual from another. Your identification card, for example, lists your name, age, sex, birth of date, etc. By comparing your ID card with that of another person, you can be sure that the two of you are different in some details, such as age, date and/or place of birth. Politics refers to one’s political positions or ideas and beliefs about how societies and countries should be governed and run. Identity politics, in short, means that if people share the same social or political identities, they should share the same or at least similar political views. One’s social or political identities refers to, say, what kind of organizations one belongs to, organizations based on age, sex, race, religion, social class, education, profession, political party affiliation, urban and rural habitation and so forth. Simply put, and if identity politics has its way all the way, people who are Christians should always fight against positions taken by, say, Muslims and vice versa. Likewise, if you’re rich, you should always vote for a tax cut and against raising the minimum wage. By the same token, if you are a woman, you should support feminist movements in any shape or form. Similarly, if you’re a Republican, you should support the Republican Party always and at all costs. | 
