The push to blame “identity politics”

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit readingthecomments.substack.comThis week, we look at a brilliant post-election conversation between Tressie McMillan Cottom & Lydia Polgreen.Both conservative and liberal commenters dropped by to spill their own post-election analysis in the comments. Many had big feels about so-called “identity politics.” We dig into what this term even means, how it’s used as an insult, and why American politics have always been based on identity.We also consider whether there is indeed some mythological neutral apparatus out there called “the economy” that works the same for everyone. (Spoiler: nope!)Most importantly, we discuss the question of how we building a better political narrative on the left moving forward—without trading away people’s rights or compromising on progressive values.Subscribe to Reading the Comments 👀 now to listen to the full episode.Show notes:“Democrats Had a Theory of the Election. They Were Wrong," by Lydia Polgreen and Tressie McMillan CottomIf you have not yet upgraded your subscription, you’ll see a free preview of the episode until you upgrade. It’s just $15 for the whole season or $5/month.Paid subscribers get access to all six episodes, plus every bonus episode, threads, a subscriber chat, and the ability to suggest topics for future shows.**Huge thanks to our new founding members! You are making this work possible.