This book analyzes a political phenomenon that has become increasingly influential in contemporary public life: the elevation of group identity to the highest political value. It introduces the concept of identitarism to designate political theories and movements that grant primacy to a particular collective identity while rejecting universalist principles that apply equally to all individuals.

Drawing on conceptual analysis, intellectual genealogy, and comparative case studies, the book argues that movements commonly associated with European identitarianism and with contemporary identity politics share a single underlying political structure despite their ideological differences. It distinguishes between majority and minority forms of identitarism and examines how both depart from universalist traditions that ground political claims in principles such as equal citizenship, human rights, and the common good.

A central concern of the book is the relationship between identity-based politics and the broader traditions of political thought. It contrasts identitarian approaches with liberal, conservative, Marxist, and religious forms of universalism, as well as with civic nationalism and with historical minority movements that sought inclusion through universal rights rather than through the political primacy of identity.

The book traces the two currents to a common root in Nietzsche's thought. From that shared core, it reconstructs two divergent lineages: one that runs through Heidegger to European identitarianism, and another that runs through Foucault, postmodernism, and social constructivism to contemporary identity politics. This genealogy shows that movements which regard each other as adversaries draw on the same philosophical premises about identity, universalism, political legitimacy, and social conflict. By bringing together political philosophy, intellectual history, and the analysis of social movements, Identity as the Supreme Political Value offers a philosophical framework for understanding the role of identity-centered politics in contemporary democratic societies.

Offers a new clear definition of identitarism and distinguishes majoritarian and minoritarian forms Grounds identity politics and identitarianism in the history of ideas Provides an original and unified philosophical framework for identitarism

Autorentext

Gustavo Arja Castañon is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Brazil. He holds doctorates in Philosophy and in Psychology and has been a Visiting Scholar at Durham University and at Harvard University. His research focuses on the philosophy of science and the philosophy of psychology. He is a researcher affiliated with CEHFICH ( Centro de Estudos de História e Filosofia das Ciências Humanas Centre for the Study of the History and Philosophy of the Human Sciences) and NUPES ( Núcleo de Pesquisa em Espiritualidade e Saúde Research Centre on Spirituality and Health). His book Possibilist Knowledge (Bloomsbury, 2026) develops a systematic account of possibilist laws and explanations in science.

Inhalt

PART I: Fundamentals.- Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: What is Identitarism.- Chapter 3: Nietzsche.- PART II: Majority Identitarism.- Chapter 4: Early Majority Identitarisms.- Chapter 5: New Majority Identitarisms.- Chapter 6: Consequences of Majority Identitarism.- PART III: Minority Identitarism.- Chapter 7: Early Minority Identitarisms and Movements.- Chapter 8: Interlude: The Postmodern Turn.- Chapter 9: New Minority Identitarisms.- Chapter 10: Consequences of Minority Identitarism.- Conclusion.