“The illusion of identity”: an european debate

Abstract

The debate on identities today is permanent and sometimes confusing. The discussion revolves around national identities or European identity, with respect to religious identities or symbols, about ethnic identities or about civic values. The issue is more complex and has a strong emotional charge; an approach that is simply rational is difficult to achieve. The issue of identity often only results in a confrontation between traditionalist and anti–liberal identity idealogies. Then what is produced is an illusion of identities. These, recreated or simplified to a maximum, sirve to defend and promote our vision of the world, or, only too often, our own interests. Revista de Fomento Social prefers to talk about complex identities as the basis of civic ethics for our European societies. We have wondered about the relevance of this debate. We aim to describe and interpret what is happening and provide some criteria to clarify concepts beginning with that of borders and of the explanation about the construction of an identity. On the proactive side we present some proposals for dialogue about what is really important and what can be considered futile and merely self– interested discussions. In short, if one does not delve into the background of a greater change that our societies are immersed in, we believe that the debate about identities may be an illusion. We live in a permanent process of constructing complex identities.