In today’s political climate, there’s little room for nuance—just rigid binaries.
US President Donald Trump's announcement that only two sexes exist-male and female-is a reinforcement of such binary opposites that exist in politics and society today.
‘Patriots vs. Traitors’ – Dissenters became enemies of the state. ‘Nationalist vs. Anti-nationalist’ – Criticising the government meant you hated the country. ‘People vs. Elite’ – Populist leaders positioned themselves as saviours of the common people while being part of the elite themselves.
But how did we get here? Why has political discourse across the world been reduced to such stark binaries?
Watch the full Deep Dive to know more.
Reporter: Rani Jana
Camera: Suresh Pandey
Editor: Ehraz Zaman
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#BinaryPolitics #USPolitics #Trump #Neoliberalism #Politics #Gender #Society #Populism #GlobalPolitics #PoliticalDiscourse #PoliticalDebate
US President Donald Trump's announcement that only two sexes exist-male and female-is a reinforcement of such binary opposites that exist in politics and society today.
‘Patriots vs. Traitors’ – Dissenters became enemies of the state. ‘Nationalist vs. Anti-nationalist’ – Criticising the government meant you hated the country. ‘People vs. Elite’ – Populist leaders positioned themselves as saviours of the common people while being part of the elite themselves.
But how did we get here? Why has political discourse across the world been reduced to such stark binaries?
Watch the full Deep Dive to know more.
Reporter: Rani Jana
Camera: Suresh Pandey
Editor: Ehraz Zaman
Follow us:
Website: https://www.outlookindia.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlookindia/
X: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia
Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlookMagazine
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/outlookindia
#BinaryPolitics #USPolitics #Trump #Neoliberalism #Politics #Gender #Society #Populism #GlobalPolitics #PoliticalDiscourse #PoliticalDebate
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NewsTranscript
00:00As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that
00:07there are only two genders, male and female.
00:11In today's political climate, there's little room for nuance, just rigid binaries.
00:17You're either a patriot or a traitor, a nationalist or an anti-national, pro-government or a radical.
00:25But how did we get here?
00:27Why has political discourse across the world been reduced to such stark binaries?
00:32To understand this, we need to go back to the economic and political shifts that shaped
00:37the modern world.
00:39Welcome to Deep Dive with Outlook.
00:41Today we will discuss binary politics.
00:44After the Second World War, capitalism flourished.
00:47But by the late 1960s, markets became saturated, corporate profits shrank and economic growth
00:53slowed.
00:54Workers in the West demanded better wages and welfare benefits.
00:59But corporations pushed back.
01:01To revive capitalism, leaders like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan championed a new
01:06model, neoliberalism.
01:09The state withdrew, industries were privatized and financial markets were deregulated.
01:15For a while, this seemed to work.
01:17But by 2008, it all came crashing down.
01:21The financial crisis shattered public faith in neoliberal capitalism.
01:26Governments bailed out corporations while working-class people suffered.
01:30As economic frustrations grew, political elites needed a new way to maintain control.
01:36And they found it in authoritarian populism.
01:40When economic solutions failed, leaders turned to ideology.
01:44Instead of addressing the real problems, growing inequality and economic instability, they
01:50offered simplistic enemies.
01:53From Trump to Bolsonaro to Adavan, leaders weaponized binary thinking.
01:58According to scholar and writer Anand Teltumde, they framed every issue as a battle between
02:04two sides.
02:05Patriots vs. traitors, dissenters became enemies of the state.
02:11Hindu vs. anti-Hindu, in India, religious identity became a political tool.
02:17Socialist vs. anti-nationalist, criticizing the government meant you hated the country.
02:23People vs. elite, populist leaders position themselves as saviors of the common people
02:28while being part of the elite themselves.
02:31But why do autocratic regimes love binary thinking?
02:35Teltumde writes that it keeps people divided.
02:39If society is split into opposing camps, no collective resistance can emerge.
02:45By creating an enemy, whether minorities, immigrants or activists, leaders justify
02:51repression.
02:53It consolidates power, positioning themselves as defenders of a religious or national identity.
03:00Authoritarian rulers silence opposition in the name of unity.
03:04And the consequences?
03:05The media is co-opted or silenced, judicial institutions are weakened, elections become
03:11mere formalities, civil liberties are curbed.
03:15But binary thinking doesn't just shape politics, it reshapes society itself.
03:20Political theorist and analyst Ajay Gudavarti argues that breaking binaries could create
03:26a crisis of meaning, ethics and direction.
03:29Binaries may create power, but they also structure how we understand the world.
03:34For instance, the concept of mother has no essence of its own.
03:39It only makes sense in contrast to father.
03:42Meaning is generated in a relational sense.
03:45When we dismantle binaries, do we gain true liberation or do we enter an era of confusion?
03:52The rejection of traditional binaries has led to normative confusions, where everything
03:57that was once considered stable is now in flux.
04:01Is this a space for creativity and self-fashioning or does it risk leading us into nihilism?
04:08The epidemic of loneliness, global regimes of boredom and rising anomie are symptoms
04:14of this crisis.
04:15Gudavarti writes that psychoanalysts have warned such uncertainty can be the breeding
04:21ground to fascism.
04:23When people feel lost, they often seek rigid order.
04:27Historically, moral ambiguity has been exploited by authoritarian figures.
04:32So, when we think of breaking binaries, are we at risk of mistaking banality for true
04:37multiplicity?
04:39But can democracy truly thrive without nuance, dialogue and coexistence?
04:45You can read more on this in our latest issue, The Grid.