The concept of political identity is seen with suspicion in current political discourse. Group identities might trump the rights of individuals and, historically, this has often been the case. This essay argues that the problem of political identity lays in the way in which the concept has been thought of in the context of the modern theory of representation. Following Eric Voegelin’s analysis of representation, which implies a criticism of the modern approach, the essay argues that the concept of political identity (properly understood) is necessary to explain the conditions of existence and persistence of political communities. The proposed view stresses the importance of the concept of “common good” in political theory and challenges the usual opposition between descriptive and prescriptive accounts of politics. The upshot is that, in order to anesthetises the dangers of political identities, we should not try to eliminate the concept, but we should relocate it in a proper theory of representation.
