The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time

Named a Best Book of the Year by The Economist, Financial Times, Inc., Prospect Magazine, and The Conversation

“The most comprehensive and reasonable story of this shift that has yet been attempted . . . Mounk has told the story of the Great Awokening better than any other writer who has attempted to make sense of it.” —The Washington Post

“An intellectual tour de force about the origins of identity politics and the threat it presents to genuine, honest, old-fashioned liberalism.” —Bret Stephens, The New York Times

“Among the most insightful and important books written in the last decade on American democracy and its current torments, because it also shows us a way out of the trap.” —Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind, and coauthor of The Coddling of the American Mind

“Outstanding.” —David Brooks, The New York Times

A fascinating account of the origins of “wokeness”—and a trenchant explanation for why the noble goals of identity politics are doomed to fail

For much of history, societies have violently oppressed ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities. It is no surprise that many came to believe that members of mar­ginalized groups need to take pride in their identity to resist injustice. But over the past decades, a healthy appreciation for the culture and heritage of minority groups transformed into a counterproductive obsession with group identity. This new ideology denies that members of different groups can truly understand each other and insists that the way governments treat their citizens should depend on the color of their skin.

This, Yascha Mounk argues, is the identity trap. Those who battle for these ideas are often full of good intentions. But they ultimately stand in the way of the genuine equality we desperately need. Mounk built his acclaimed scholarly career on being one of the first to warn of the risks that right-wing populists pose to American democracy, a danger that now remains as serious as ever. But far from being mortal enemies, the identitarian left and the populist right actually reinforce each other; to vanquish one, he shows here, it is necessary to oppose both.

In The Identity Trap, Mounk provides the most ambitious and comprehensive account to date of the origins, consequences, and limitations of “wokeness.” He shows how postmodernism, postcolonialism, and critical race theory conquered many college campuses. He lays out how these ideas gained tremendous influence in business, media, and government, and he makes a nuanced philosophical case for why these ideas are so counterproductive—and why universal, humanist values can best serve the vital goal of true equality. The Identity Trap provides truth and clarity where they are needed most.

Yascha Mounk is a writer and academic known for his work on the rise of populism and the crisis of liberal democracy. Born in Germany to Polish parents, Mounk received his BA in history from Trinity College Cambridge, and his PhD in government from Harvard University. He is a professor of the practice of international affairs at Johns Hopkins University, the founder of the digital magazine Persuasion, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the author of The Great Experiment and The Identity Trap.