Why Identity Politics Makes the Left Miserable

[GURPS]

I'm really fascinated by this question. Why is it that social surveys routinely show conservatives are more happy than progressives? Today Thomas Edsall has an opinion piece in the NY Times which looks at some of the research on this question. And what he finds is that there may in fact be a depressive aspect to modern progressivism, one that is being driven by identity politics and the spreading fixation on social justice.

The happiness gap has been with us for at least 50 years, and most research seeking to explain it has focused on conservatives. More recently, however, psychologists and other social scientists have begun to dig deeper into the underpinnings of liberal discontent — not only unhappiness, but also depression and other measures of dissatisfaction.
One of the findings emerging from this research is that the decline in happiness and in a sense of agency is concentrated among those on the left who stress matters of identity, social justice and the oppression of marginalized groups.

Why would these two things be correlated? Edsall got a comment on that from a Notre Dame professor named Timothy Judge who argued it was about the left's tendency to create an external locus of control.

I do share the perspective that a focus on status, hierarchies and institutions that reinforce privilege contributes to an external locus of control...
If our predominant focus in how we view the world is social inequities, status hierarchies, societal unfairness conferred by privilege, then everyone would agree that these things are not easy to fix, which means, in a sense, we must accept some unhappy premises: Life isn’t fair; outcomes are outside my control, often at the hands of bad, powerful actors; social change depends on collective action that may be conflictual; an individual may have limited power to control their own destiny, etc.
These are not happy thoughts because they cause me to view the world as inherently unfair, oppressive, conflictual, etc. It may or may not be right, but I would argue that these are in fact viewpoints of how we view the world, and our place in it, that would undermine our happiness.

This makes immediate sense to me. If your worldview is focused on grand forces and trends (white supremacy, misogyny, racism, global warming) that are holding you back because of your unchangeable identity. And if you further believe those forces are intractable over your lifetime and beyond, there's not much reason for happiness. It's a worldview that seems bent toward depression.

Alternatively, if you tend to believe that problems that exist are more local or even internal in many cases then the chances of making changes that will benefit you and others is much higher. Having an internal, as opposed to an external, locus of control seems like a viewpoint designed to increase self-confidence.

Locus of Control: Why Identity Politics Makes the Left Miserable

hotair.com

 

[Kyle]

It's much easier than that.

They're just unhappy because they are emotionally unstable or bat-crap crazy.

 

[vraiblonde]

The Left is already miserable and dysfunctional. That's why they seek an identity and something to belong to. So they cluster with other misfits and wallow in their anger and misery instead of having productive friends with positive lives to emulate. It's easy to be a miserable wretch; being productive and happy takes more effort.

 

[phreddyp]

The Left is already miserable and dysfunctional. That's why they seek an identity and something to belong to. So they cluster with other misfits and wallow in their anger and misery instead of having productive friends with positive lives to emulate. It's easy to be a miserable wretch; being productive and happy takes more effort.

It must be extremely frustrating for the rank-and-file leftists who have watched their party be in control of all three branches of the Federal government for years but leave most of their biggest successes in the hands of their Democratic judges who love to legislate from the bench instead of actually passing bills that would give their needs and wants some credibility.

The lesson here is that what is given by one judge can be taken away by another. Basically, the left has left themselves exposed instead of actually doing THEIR job on their major issues.

No wonder they are angry and confused.

 

[BOP]

The left is female - feminist, really; whereas the right is male - more traditional.

The left lives in their emotions. Now we're not talking about the puppet masters who control the left; we're talking about the useful idiots who make up the left.

The right is more rational and fact based - actual, literal, quantifiable, empirical facts, not opinions that the left takes for facts because they WANT to believe that they're true.

Pearl Davis said it of women in general: "Women are gullible; we'll fall for almost anything." And they do. Especially for things like feminism, which is not, and never has been about equality.

It's always been about equity, though they didn't use that word back in the day. Feminism is about female supremacy. They want the power and control to be able to dictate to everyone else how they ought to live their lives, or at least prevent people from living their lives the way people want to.

Their problem has always been, and continues to be: what to do about those pesky men. Well, old men are easy; we don't produce anything, nor do we contribute to the economy in any substantive ways.

Young men, on the other hand...well, they're not physically strong enough to literally enslave them, however, slowly, but surely, they are managing to marginalize younger men by shoving them out of positions in academia, in government, and in the corporate world. Even in religious circles, there are many female "pastors" of mainline denominations, and even where there are not, there are still women who are the power behind the thrones, so to speak. Don't believe me? Just take a look at the progressive, woke messages coming out of many pulpits in this day and age.

60% of college students are women; 40% men. Did you know that in Great Britain, they passed legislation that in X-number of years, corporations are required to have 40% female representation on their boards? I forget when they did that, but they surpassed that last year. Note: I just looked and they passed that legislation in 2022, with a target of 2025.

To me, it makes a lot of sense to characterize the left and the right the way I think of them in my head. HH may not agree with that, since he sees the left and the right as two wings on a bird, or something, but there being a uniparty doesn't change the sheeple of either side.

 

[GURPS]

Did you know that in Great Britain, they passed legislation that in X-number of years, corporations are required to have 40% female representation on their boards? I forget when they did that, but they surpassed that last year. Note: I just looked and they passed that legislation in 2022, with a target of 2025.

I think California did this as well ... or similar

 

[BOP]

I think California did this as well ... or similar

The EU did as well.

I'm actually curious as to what the world will look like when women are in charge. They still need men to do the hard work and make the difficult decisions.

 

[StmarysCity79]

The Left is already miserable and dysfunctional. That's why they seek an identity and something to belong to. So they cluster with other misfits and wallow in their anger and misery instead of having productive friends with positive lives to emulate. It's easy to be a miserable wretch; being productive and happy takes more effort.

Have you ever seen Trump laugh? tell a joke or smile?

You are the angry one who wants to kill everyone you disagree with and wrap yourself in your political identity.

Seems like a lot of projecting on your end.

 

[phreddyp]

Have you ever seen Trump laugh? tell a joke or smile?

You are the angry one who wants to kill everyone you disagree with and wrap yourself in your political identity.

Seems like a lot of projecting on your end.

Yep I've seen Trump smile quite often, when he talks about his children, whipping the bitch's ass (Hillary in case you missed it) and the passing of his tax cuts just to mention a few. Liberal news won't show it of course.