It’s undeniable that a hyperfocus on race, gender, sexuality, and all things identity has in recent years made personal and policy conversations more tense and vitriolic. A helpful new book parses through how this process unfolded—and why it’s done more harm than good.
In The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time, left-liberal writer and Johns Hopkins University professor Yascha Mounk traces the intellectual roots of what he calls “the identity synthesis,” his more precise term for what is popularly called “wokeness.” Much of its intellectual tradition uses inscrutable academic jargon, yet Mounk maintains an approachable writing style.
Rachel Ferguson is the director of the Free Enterprise Center at Concordia University Chicago, assistant dean of the College of Business, and professor of business ethics.
