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When Politics Becomes a Religion

[additional-authors]
March 21, 2017
From DailyOrange.com

Andrew Sullivan argued recently in New York Magazine that the belief system called “intersectionality” functions as a religion. “It posits a classic orthodoxy,” he writes, and “its version of original sin is the power of some identity groups over others.” He adds that “if you happen to see the world in a different way, you are not just wrong, you are immoral.”

He’s right, and not only about intersectionality. Various orthodoxies now compete for power in political life, each one driven by faith in a particular vision of salvation. Each treats the other as unenlightened at best, sinners at worst. They don’t accept reasoned conclusions based on demonstrable fact if those conclusions contradict their fundamental convictions.

One faction believes in loyalty to one’s own, whether that means their family or ethnic group or hometown or country. For them, it’s delusional – or even a trap – to aspire to solutions that work for everybody. They blame outsiders for their troubles, and they want to be left alone to work things out for themselves. They think that decentralized power produces the fairest, best results.

Another faction believes in technocratic solutions to issues of justice and equality. Turn problems over to experts, they say. Let the most knowledgeable, experienced people figure out what’s best for everybody, including the most vulnerable, and let the government implement it.

Yet another contingent has given up on the system as it exists. They think it’s too broken to be fixed. They imagine a new order that will eliminate social injustice and economic inequality, led by an insurgent figure who embodies their frustration and who cares little for the status quo.

Ultimately it’s all about power – who has it, who wants it.  One group believes in shifting power away from the center and strengthening localities’ ability to determine their own fate. Another trusts the rationality of experts over the opinions of the masses and wants the professionals in charge. A third feels that the spirit of idealism can guide the nation if only the cynical politicians can be swept aside in favor of a people’s movement.

Intersectionalists, a global movement, act as arbiters of morality with the right to silence others. Like Marxists, who profess a commonality among the worldwide proletariat, intersectionalists find common cause among all who are oppressed. Marxists designate “class enemies” in order to legitimize eliminating their opponents; intersectionalists empower themselves to eliminate accused racists, homophobes, and others whom they condemn.

All these factions justify their pursuit of power in the name of justice, as in any religious revolution or political coup you can name. That’s not to judge whether they are right or wrong, self-seeking or sincere. What is striking about all of them is that they are animated by a vision of redemption that expects its faith to effect transformation.

Idealism can certainly transform a society. When a political orthodoxy imposes its faith to bring about heaven on earth, however, the outcome isn’t heaven. It’s hell.

 

 

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