#BattleFest2018: Me, Me, Me! Narcissism and the new politics of identity

A recording of the debate at the Battle of Ideas 2018 on Sunday 14 October at the Barbican, London. Today, everything seems to be an expression of contemporary ‘narcissism’, from dismissing millennials as Generation Me to describing Donald Trump as the ‘narcissist in chief’. It seems your boss or co-workers, everyone on Tinder, celebrities, even your parents are all ‘narcissists’. But has it become a lazy cliché? Or is it an accurate diagnosis of today’s identity-driven politics, which puts the self and self-esteem centre stage? Why do we reach so quickly for therapeutic categories to understand politics? Why has the idea of narcissism become so pervasive? SPEAKERS DR GRAEME ARCHER writer; professional statistician; winner, 2011 Orwell Prize for blogging DR BETH GUILDING academic, Goldsmiths, University of London; co-editor, Narrating the Passions: new perspectives from modern and contemporary literature CAROLINE MACFARLAND director, Common Vision (CoVi) JACOB REYNOLDS partnerships manager, Academy of Ideas; co-convenor, Living Freedom; organiser, Debating Matters CHAIR: DR TIFFANY JENKINS writer and broadcaster; author, Keeping Their Marbles: how treasures of the past ended up in museums and why they should stay there