Primal Screams: How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics

Who am I? The question today haunts every society in the Western world.

Legionsof people—especially the young—have become unmoored from a firm sense of self. To compensate, theyjoin the ranks of ideologicaltribesspawned by identity politicsandreactwith frenzyagainstanyperceived threatto theirgroup.

As identitarians track andexposetheideologicallyimpure, other citizens face theconsequences oftheir rancor: a litany of"isms" run amokacrossall levels of cultural life, thefreemarketplace of ideasmutedby agendasshouted through megaphones, and aspirit ofgeneralgoodwillwarpedintoa state of perpetual outrage.

How did we get here?Why have we divided against one anotherso bitterly?In Primal Screams, acclaimedcultural criticMary Eberstadtpresents themost provocative and originaltheoryto come along in recent years.The rise of identity politics, she argues, is a direct result of the fallout ofthe sexual revolution, especially the collapse and shrinkage of the family.

As Eberstadt illustrates, humans have forged their identities within the kinship structure from time immemorial. The extended family, in a real sense, is the first tribe and teacher. But withitsunprecedented decline across various measures, generations of people have been set adrift and can no longer answer the question Who am I? concerning primordial ties. Desperate for solidarity and connection, they claim membership in politicized groups whose displays of frantic irrationalism amount to primal screams for familial and communal loss.

Written in herimpeccablestyleandwithempathy rarely encountered in today's divisive discourse, Eberstadt'stheory holds immense explanatory power that no serious citizencan afford to ignore.The bookconcludes with threeincisiveessays by Rod Dreher, Mark Lilla, and Peter Thiel, eachsharing their perspective onthe author'sformidableargument.