Identity vs Merit
A talk show on the BBC a while back discussed the topic of “Why are the Royal Family so ‘white’, given that UK society is so ethnically diverse these days?” After seeing this tweet, at first glance I thought it felt like satire. Surely this was not a serious question? But upon seeing the blue checkmark next to the name ‘BBC Talkback’, I realised that this is real. ‘Why the Royal Family is so white’ is actually a serious topic for discussion.
This is ludicrous. The answers are quite obvious- are we really expecting to force the Windsor princes to love and marry someone just to ensure minorities are represented at absolutely level in the British government? A little unreasonable, perhaps. But what this tweet does encapsulate, however, is the obsession that modern society has on identity politics.
This, of course, is a sensitive issue. It is clear that there indeed are groups that have been marginalised throughout history, whether they be ethnic minorities, women or the LGBT in various societies. We have made great advances in ensuring that different social groups have been empowered and given a voice in the world today. The United States is a clear illustration of this; the first black president is about to end his term, and may be succeeded by the first female president. Marriage equality is now the law of the land. The United Kingdom now has its second female prime minister and its capital’s mayor is ethnically Pakistani. These are progressive advances that should be applauded. After all, this is the 21st century. The era of segregation and racism, of disempowering women, surely has to be over.
However, it is also important to remember the ultimate goals of campaigning for racial equality or gender equality. We seem to keep driving forward to an era ever-more obsessed about the identity of our leaders and politicians. We rush to ensure that every single social group is represented on a debate stage. We try to ensure our parliaments must be gender-balanced. Perhaps this is a worthy goal. But is it right to expend so much attention and energy to this?
In the end, the question that should be on our minds is one of merit. Let us take Hillary Clinton, who made history as the first female nominee of a major party in the United States this week. Yes, Hillary Clinton is a woman, and it is excellent to see that a woman is now in reach of the White House; gender equality has come a long way. However, we must also be clear on the reasons why Hillary Clinton has been nominated. To have a first female president is a major milestone, but why should that be a factor in deciding who the leader of the free world is? To argue that Hillary should become president because she is well-qualified, more capable than any of the other Democratic candidates, is valid. To say she should become president because she is female is actually to go against the very principle of gender equality. We have instead discriminated against the men who ran simply because they were men. It’s perfectly fine to say “I’m With Her”, but be with her not because the candidate is a her not a he; be with her because you believe in her talents and her ideas.
Government functions when our leaders are capable, when they are well-qualified for their roles. A meritocracy should be the ultimate goal of any institution; to ensure people attain what they deserve based on their talent and skill. Electing someone from an ethnic minority or from a different sex to the high offices in the land may go well with social justice warriors, but this is not the ultimate goal. Don’t refuse to vote for someone just because he is a boring white man who does not tick any of the boxes on the identity criteria of the left. Instead judge every candidate equally based on their merit, regardless of their race or sexual orientation. Just as being part of the racial majority does not make someone more qualified for office (after all, there is no such thing as the ‘white man’s burden’), being part of a racial minority should not also increase a candidate’s chances of winning just because.
If we are to be a truly fair and equal society, then the road ahead is not one with greater and greater obsession with identity politics. Don’t vote for people on the basis of their skin colour or their genitalia. Vote for them because they have merit.
