All the abstract dangers of identity politics were quickly becoming real. Individuals within marginalised groups were being airbrushed out of existence. Self-selecting leaders were able to present themselves as representatives of a homogeneous group, as the projection of its general will, when they had no legitimate claim to do so. The most conservative elements of political thought were able to define a community. And people were encouraged to see themselves as fundamentally different from other groups, even in conflict with them.
