Analysis Of Mark Lilla's Essay: The End Of Identity Liberalism

Mark Lilla’s essay “The End of Identity Liberalism” vehemently endorses a post-identity form of liberalism that focuses on the commonality of the American people, instead of the differences that set them apart. According to the author, the age of identity liberalism—remarkably known for the relentless efforts of groups advocating for equality such as the Black Lives Matter or the gay rights movement—needs to come to an end so that the needs of all Americans are effectively considered, regardless of a specific identity or special privilege that may originate from it. Although such vision attempts to justify the Trump’s win by acknowledging the harsh realities of the white-working and religious groups in rural areas across the country who felt

Notably, Lilla’s idealization of a post-identity liberalism could be able to move the country forward in collaborative ways that may have never occurred before. This way, the needs of Americans coming from every walk of life would be noted equally. Realistically, however, this will hardly happen in the absence of a strong sense of integration among those who share the values of what it means to be an American. In this case, it seems that there is a significant problem in mapping out the set of American identities themselves as a single instrument for unification based on common values, mainly due to the fact that there are so many groups disputing for power. That being said, it is possible to infer that the construction of identity in the American case seems to be rooted in the use of political and economic power and the consequences they bring to the present

is soon to become a minority-majority nation, which makes the discussion of diversity not a “fixation” as he calls it; instead, it is an essential urge to prioritize the debate on the importance of diversity as the new common ground between contemporary democracies around the world. In such an interconnected and globalized world where ideas and cultures are increasingly exchanged, the denial of importance of diversity in tackling the enduring issues of racism, sexism, xenophobia, and violence are, at the very least, erroneous. On the other hand, it is also necessary to highlight that there is a compelling component related to the economic struggles of the white working class in face of job losses due to globalization and the great recession, not necessarily due to the focus on “diversity.” Such anti-globalization movement suggests that poor and uneducated people fear the current political framework and are in dire need of a leader who is able to represent them. It is worth mentioning that this is not an isolated problem in the U.S.; in fact, it has been quickly spreading across Latin America and