IDiots: How Identity Politics is Destroying the Left

by Katie Roche

The rise of identity politics in the past decade has been impossible to miss. Issues such as race, sexuality and gender identity have enveloped the left in the UK and the USA. Politicians, big business and celebrities have all got behind these causes. While this might appear progressive, there are many negative consequences of identity politics. Perfect for the general reader, as well as those who wish to study this topic in-depth, this book offers an analysis of the impact of identity politics from a socialist perspective. It will examine how identity politics has damaged the left by analysing examples of identity politics in action from both sides of the Atlantic. And it tells us why it's time for the left to return to its class-based roots.

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 3, 2021

Reviews

[ToriBeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting book that explored the ideology of "wokeism" and the harms it has created for society and in the left wing movement. I agreed with a lot the author said, and I found her outside the box critical analysis really thought-provoking. BUT this book needs one hell of an edit! Secondly, I found it really annoying and ironic that the author is challenging woke ideology, but referred to prostitution as "sex work" through out - which, in my opinion, is a particularly damaging woke rebranding of the World's oldest oppression of women and girls. The author also used "preferred pronouns" of people who claim to be 'trans', which I feel undermined her arguments about challenging the prioritisation of individualism over collective action. And lastly... *sigh* something I feel like I always see in criticisms of wokeism is the bastardisation of feminism. Feminism is a movement that advocates and campaigns for women and girls' liberation. Choice feminism or liberal feminism is a con designed to make women and girls comply with patriarchal expectations (I.e. catering to pornsick men, prioritising men's feelings etc etc) but be happy about it because of 'choice.' As Andrea Dworkin said, 'If we don't emphasize the harms of pornography, generations of women and girls will be told its good for them.' And well, here we are. I'm tired of critical commentators doing so much research and work to understand and explore complex topics, but then get their understanding of feminist theory and analysis from a shitty libfem Instagram post.

[Ken MacIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walloping the Woke

This is a readable and accessible critique of identity politics which has captured not only left wing parties but social institutions in English speaking countries. Public bodies such as the BBC or NHS and universities are in thrall to the lunacies and delusions of transgenderism. The obsession with identity overlooks fundamental divisions of class and inequality. Women are insultingly branded 'cis' and hence morally inferior to wealthy privileged males who claim to be 'trans' and oppressed. The obession with pronouns ranks before poverty or the planet, an anti-science narcissism that alienates working class voters who have better things to do. Roche takes apart the dishonest and manipulative abuse of language as 'violence'. However, it is flawed by a small number of spelling and grammatical errors. 'Borders' not 'boarders' are open. The Lancashire bay where cockle pickers drowned is Morecambe not Morcombe. The colloquial use of 'like' for 'as' produces clumsy sentences, like the Shakespeare Play, Like You Like It. Hopefully these small errors can be corrected for the next edition for critiques such as this are badly needed.

[Miss T Meynell · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's worth a read

I am centre right in my political beliefs. However, identity politics is g
oing down a dark path and driving most sane people mad. This virtue
signalling is making this country go backwards, not forward.
The author is spot on about these social warriors. Most of them have no idea the problems ordinary people face regardless of the colour of your skin.
The new generation are little snowflakes and looking for everything that offends them. This needs to stop or is it toolate ?!

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very readable critique of left wing politics written from a socialist position. Covers a lot of ground. Helen Pluckroses „Cynical Theories“ covers similar territory but in a university and public services context. It would be interesting to read a well reasoned counter position to these books.

[Ted Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have really done with a proof reader this.

[Nikk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fine accessible read, I wanted to try and understand what had happened post Brexit and particularly to the modern left. I had been guilty of blaming the mainly white working class in Britain, that has been slandered and hung out to dry by the very people and parties that historically should have been the protectors or working class interests- by an increasingly privileged elite middle class who cannot begin to relate to the normal everyday struggles of working people. This group so keen to label themselves as victims while actually being as far from that as possible, they are self indulgent and have become increasingly poorer in their ability to understand and provide answers to complex socioeconomic problems faced by millions.

When do you hear the woke get hot and bothered about employment, education, health and housing ? You don’t because they don’t worry about it, if you’ve never been punched in the face you are likely to come out with nonsense like words are violence.

The fact that working people are lectured to on racism by people who never so much as shared a classroom with non white friends is flabbergasting. We sorted these things out years ago with our black and Asian mates, colleagues and the music we liked and bands we followed - diversity is everyday life for most people, it’s a shame the ones so obsessed with it and half baked philosophy are the ones who don’t live it and never have.