tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9172766774137902766.post8686146965150940726..comments2023-12-23T09:28:20.869+00:00Comments on The View from Cullingworth: It ain't broke, it just needs some love and attention: the case for more conservatismUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9172766774137902766.post-12342085844174343082016-12-08T12:51:31.218+00:002016-12-08T12:51:31.218+00:00A major problem with identity politics is that it ...A major problem with identity politics is that it has become a commercial enterprise for its major proponents. Claims of grievance and oppression are everywhere and the solution invariably involves the purchase of services from professionals and their associates. But the analysis is always superficial and the expected outcomes of these services are vague or unable to demonstrate positive cost benefits. Attempts to bring transparency are more likely to result in further claims of grievance e.g. "you're a racist/oppressing me if you ask me what I'm doing with the money I was given for that community project/initiative/quango/workshop/training/consultancy I sold you that doesn't seem to deliver any actual benefit other than employing my friends, you better give me some more money and stop asking questions, and then I won't call you a racist or say you're oppressing me until I need some more money from you, when same rules will apply". <br /><br />Grievance and entitlement are perpetual, which is convenient if you're selling identity politics, and even if the situation does get better, that's just an opportunity to find new interpretations of what constitutes grievance and entitlement.<br /><br />This is not to say that certain groups don't have legitimate grievances or things shouldn't be done to address them, just that what we have today looks more like a racket. A good example are the periodic reports (like recent one from EHRC) that lead to accusations of racism in education because boys from black Afro-Caribbean ancestry do poorly; those studies invariably fail to unpack why boys from black-African or Asian ancestry do better, or why poor white boys do even worse. They just focus on superficial but emotive claims that will sell the next set of services with similar conclusions that will also diligently avoid unpacking the results, a cycle that repeats over and over without ever digging into those key differences and contradictions that might lead to meaningful but possibly controversial insights.MJWnoreply@blogger.com