On the forging of identity 

Today we assume individuals should choose how to live; Sartre, by contrast, was speaking in an era still dominated by monoliths. It feels insane to write, but the Axis powers waged total war to establish global racial supremacy. They deemed national purity and the virility of the state important enough to liquidate millions and subjugate billions. The Allies who defeated this madness drew their power from colonial empires built on less extreme versions of the same worldview. The existentialist argument that there is no destiny waiting for us in the form of a predefined way of life – be it racial, cultural, religious or ideological – is a radical departure from history. Humans have lived according to different versions of identity-­based destiny for millennia. Mass identities can offer a shortcut to finding a place and a sense of self in the world, but they are also the engine of division and violence between competing groups. It’s a double-­edged sword and nigh unavoidable: taken too far, any attempt at belonging ends in exclusion and persecution for those who do not belong in that specific way.