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Label Fetishism: Tribal Ideologies and the Politics of Double Standards

In February 2024, The Guardian published an article stating,

“Criticising Israel doesn’t mean we’re anti-Semitic.”

While I agree with this sentiment, it is hard to ignore the glaring double standard here. This is a display of hypocrisy from a media outlet that will not hesitate to accuse individuals of racism for criticising the ideology of Islam—using the misnomer “Islamophobic” to discredit such criticism. I do not intend to pick solely on The Guardian for this double standard; it reflects a broader issue of intellectual laziness across the left-wing political spectrum. It’s dismaying that, even today, we need to remind people that any attack on an identity is reprehensible. Anti-Muslim rhetoric and other forms of bigotry deserve to be called exactly that but should not be ambiguously labelled “Islamophobia.” Wouldn’t it be ludicrous to start adding ‘-phobic’ to every ideology to shield it from justified criticism? Must words like “Christianity-phobic,” “Hinduism-phobic,” “Scientology-phobic,” “Nazism-phobic,” “Communism-phobic,” or “Capitalism-phobic” be applied to those who critique these ideologies? This approach is absurd and only exposes the inconsistency in how people handle criticism. It’s evident that this term wasn’t developed to protect a particular group or their identity, but to shield the ideology itself from empirical and moral scrutiny.

As with any religious dogma, criticism and the exposure of its inconsistencies are necessary. For centuries, Christianity in the West was subjected to this scrutiny, allowing society to break free from the chains of oppression, repression, and stagnation that marked so much of its history. But this doesn’t mean we should favour or shield other dogmas simply because the sanctimonious left mistakenly attaches an ethnic group to an ideology.

The Guardian is the same publication that labels anyone who deviates from its agenda as “far-right.” This does not mean it’s on my blacklist like manipulative news sources like GB News, Fox News or the Daily Express—sources that only exist to manipulate dull readers with deception—but I regularly encounter double standards like this, and I cannot help but cringe.

The entire political spectrum has become a farce, a caricature of itself. Those who jump from one side to another seem devoid of nuance or critical thinking. The right-wing counterparts are equally imprudent, sharing flawed convictions against anything that contradicts their overly cherished principles. When we look closer, we see a disturbing trend where some on the left seem willing to support regimes or ideologies that are fundamentally at odds with the very values they claim to uphold, such as rights of sexual freedom, freedom of speech, and gender equality. There are inclinations where left-wing movements or media turn a blind eye to theocratic regimes that openly persecute sexually diverse individuals, suppress dissent, and curtail basic human rights. This contradiction reveals a self-righteous and often unreflective tendency within the left: a willingness to support causes or governments simply because they oppose perceived Western imperialism or capitalism, even if these causes stand against their professed values.

Both the left and the right have become parodies of their own making, perpetuating the very identity politics they claim to despise. This phenomenon, which I shall call “Label Fetishism,” is a pervasive force in contemporary discourse, particularly in the United States. It is the obsessive attachment to self-imposed labels and the belief that these labels must dictate every aspect of one’s identity and worldview.

Label Fetishism manifests in the way individuals and groups cling to their chosen identities with a fervour that borders on the religious. “I’m XYZ ethnicity, therefore I must be…” or “You’re XYZ ethnicity, therefore you must be…” are common refrains in this ideological echo chamber. Conservatives and liberals alike fall prey to this mindset, believing that their political affiliation must encompass every stereotype and expectation associated with their label. “I’m conservative, therefore I must oppose all progressive ideas,” or “I’m liberal, therefore I must support every social justice cause,” are the mantras for this cultic partisanship.

Label Fetishism not only stifles individuality but also erodes the quality of political discourse. By reducing complex issues to simplistic labels, it creates an environment where meaningful debate is replaced by tribalism and echo chambers. This behaviour undermines social cohesion, as people become more entrenched in their ideological silos, viewing those with differing opinions as enemies rather than fellow citizens. The result is a fractured society, where dialogue and compromise are increasingly rare. This rigid adherence to labels stifles individuality and critical thinking. It reduces complex human beings to mere avatars of their political or ethnic identities.. The left and right, particularly in the States, take an inordinate amount of pride in their labels, believing that they must embody every trait and belief stereotypically associated with their chosen identity. Ironically, the right has become what they once despised about the left. They have become obsessed with culture wars, engaging in the same kind of identity politics they once decried. They reject objective reality and empirical evidence, much like the postmodernists they so vehemently oppose. This rejection of evidence and embrace of alternative facts has led to a political landscape where truth is malleable, and reality is subjective. The alleged culture wars have become a battleground where both sides fight not for truth or progress, but for the supremacy of their labels. The right, in their crusade against the extremes of the left, has adopted the very tactics they once condemned. They have become the mirror image of their adversaries, locked in a perpetual cycle of outrage and reaction. Label Fetishism is a blight on modern political discourse. It reduces individuals to mere representatives of their chosen identities, stifles critical thinking, and perpetuates division. Both the left and the right are guilty of this behaviour, and it has led to a political landscape where genuine dialogue and understanding are all but impossible.

*This essay is featured in the book, The Rise of the Radical Right.

*This essay was written in 2023-24

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