The Identity Crisis

Humanity is hopelessly entangled in its own identity structures.

Unfortunately the word ‘identity' does not mean what one truly is for most individuals. Most people see their identity as composed of which part of society they belong to rather than their individual character.

People in all societies across the world have erected a multitude of social identity structures, finding all sorts of reasons and justifications for them; centuries later the concept is so universal that every person has multiple identities.

The concept of such identities probably originated in two ways. Early human society was extremely localised. Most people spent their entire lives in a small region without any contact with people from other parts of the world, and within each region the population was largely homogeneous. But then explorers began to go on long journeys to faraway places, and they met people who were different from them in almost every way. It was then, upon encountering ‘different’ people, that people of a group/community began to develop a shared consciousness.

Then when different people met they also felt a need to establish some sort of supremacy. Such thinking was used by colonists using their ‘civilized’ identity to justify conquest, slavery and genocide. When confronted with the ‘others’ people suddenly begin to think of a collective belonging and assert their superiority.

The second possibility is that identity developed as a means for individuals to fit in with society. People created social groups to have a collective identity and to gain some sort of status. Identity groups were to give some sort of structure and hierarchy to society. It is also easier to have power as a group, and to consolidate it by creating an identity out of it. But now instead of society being the basis for identity, identity is the basis of society.

Over time identity has been both a divisive and a unifying force. It united individuals into groups but divided humanity into those groups. It enables people to identify with something greater than themselves but prevents them from identifying with all humans as a whole. This is the paradox of identity.

But however common identity is, it has a number of inherent defects with wide-ranging implications for society and humanity. Identity lies at the root of many human troubles.

Identity causes inequalities, domination and oppression. Anyone who belongs to a community feels a need and desire for the community to grow, expand, and become more influential. This develops into supremacism, and stronger groups dominate weaker ones. Bias and discrimination arise solely out of identity structures and the prejudice associated with them.

In a way identity oppression is a paradox. People belonging to a group are oppressed for their group identity, but they continue to remain in and identify with that group. They are so attached to that group that they cannot simply leave it, and live in a state of self-imposed misery.

Oppressors do not exist; the people oppress themselves.

And years later, when these groups demand ‘justice’, they are comprised of a new generation of individuals who never suffered the same mistreatment as those before them. But their sense of hurt community pride and their will to supremacy over the former oppressors leads them to demand—and get—affirmative policies. No amount of privilege will remove their sense of community injustice. Many see that as justified: an oppressed group calling for policies to bring them at par with the mainstream. But at the individual level it is just a group of people who invoke their ancestors’ past oppression to get special status in the present.

Another severe problem is that identities, especially nations, are a huge roadblock to solving universal problems and making everyone’s lives better.

Humans are too narrow-minded to identify with and relate to something as great as humanity.

Most only desire the good of their own group. This trend is starkingly prevalent in nations and marginalized groups. It is these identities that prevent people for thinking in terms of the world and all humans.

World problems like hunger, disease and poverty persist because groups of people think of themselves as separate and are unwilling to help ‘others’ because it would involve giving something on their part. Identities prevent people from getting together and making everyone’s lives better; rather, humans are divided into selfish groups concerned only with themselves.

Social identity also affects individual behaviour. There are always some expectations, prejudices and traditions associated with identity groups, and every individual balances them out with their own freedom. Many times, people conform and do what is expected of them for fear of stigma. And because they see their identities as who they are, they are so fundamentally attached to them that they sacrifice their freedom.

People are always constrained by, yet trying to live up to, their identity roles. Identity dictates everything from how you dress, how you eat, how you interact with others, how you judge and perceive others, and most importantly, how you think of yourself.

It is found that marginalized groups are always more fundamentally attached to their identity. Apart from their group selfishness, they are the ones who most consider these identities a part of themselves. They are the ones who are most unwilling to let go of identity and they usually try to bring in identity everywhere. They try to appeal to others’ emotions using their identity. And they are not ready to accept that getting rid of the identity is the only way to equality.

Violence and mobilization based on identity has left, and continues to leave, an indelible blot on the name of humanity. Hundreds of millions of people have lost their lives due to identity violence. Such violence may originate in two ways:

One scenario is when there are many (usually two) groups in a region competing for local hegemony. In such a case group identity leads people to take part in mob violence, riots, lynching and at the highest level, genocide and war.

In the second case groups peacefully living together are mobilized by politicians and social leaders. Their identity extremism and ideas of supremacy and a collective belonging awaken the people’s passions. Tensions rapidly develop and the leaders often provoke violence. People normally commit far more inhuman acts in a group than individually because they are absolved of responsibility and not answerable to their own conscience.

Closely linked to identity is the concept of diversity. Diversity is usually seen as a positive aspect of society. Most societies try to portray themselves as a ‘melting pot’ of cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity but with tolerance, harmony, and unity (in the national sense) even as practices like discrimination and hate continue unabated.

Diversity implies a recognition that people are ‘different’ in some way, that various identities are a positive thing to have in society, and that they must be protected and encouraged. In a diverse society, identities are more pronounced and occupy the centre stage in all social processes. It is ironic that humans create identity divisions among themselves, consider those groups as different, and then say that they live in a diverse society.

Though the concept of diversity must give way to unity in humanity, this does not necessarily mean that everyone be homogenized. Cultures, languages, religions and other elements of diversity can continue to thrive, but they must stop thinking of each other as different. It is only a change in mentality that is required. It is far more in the interests of society to have diversity in thinking rather than diversity of identity.

While most identity groups mutually recognize each other, they have trouble recognising no identity. In an identity centred world, it is difficult for someone to be totally ‘identity-blind’ and not identify with a group, and more so for this to be accepted by society. It is compulsory for everyone to have a nationality, religion still does not accept atheism, and one cannot have ‘no race’ because it is ordained from birth.

It does not suffice for one to be simply human; one must be human ‘plus something else’.

In most cases people have little say in the identities they have. They are either born into them (race, gender, birth status) or brought up into them (nationality, religion, ethnicity). Everyone is taught their place in society, and to respect and take pride in the groups they belong to. And there is no real mobility or choice in birth-ordained identities. Very few people in this world have their identities by choice--the rest were forced into them with no option. Yet they identify with those groups just as strongly, out of their free will. Despite having no say or choice they have embodied them in their selves just the same.

Identity has superseded merit as the differentiating factor of humanity. This is true for all spheres of life--anywhere you go your identity is more important than your ability, talent and competence. Society has deteriorated to the level that even justice has taken the back seat.

Finally, identity has the greatest dehumanizing effect of all human creations. Individuality and the value of the individual is lost in the society of identity. Society is not made up of individuals but of identity groups. People look at each other through the lenses of identity and are unable to see everyone clearly as who they are: human beings–nothing less, nothing more, and nothing else.

There is a distinction of us and them that comes up due to identity. They will always be the ‘other’ and will always be thought of as different in some way. On the other hand, people of the same group will share a common bond—that of having the same identity in their minds. A person may have a lot in common with some of them, but many social processes will be with unrelated people in us.

Regardless of anything anyone says about their identity, it exists only in the minds of humans and has no real meaning or form. It is an artificial construct, an imagination that survives only because people think of it.

Human beings cannot be rendered ‘different’ in any way by their own divisions. They should all strive to think differently, rather than identify differently.