Peter Frase

A few years back, in pursuit of the [lately relevant](http://www.vox.com/2015/1/29/7945119/all-politics-is-identity-politics) notion that all politics are, in some sense, identity politics, I wrote a bit about the role of regional cultures as a basis for left [identities](https://www.jacobinmag.com/2012/11/an-imagined-community/). In particular, I talked about the labor protests in Wisconsin and their relationship to the "Wisconsin idea":

> The historian Christopher Phelps argues that the protests drew strength and legitimacy from a particular set of shared norms unique to Wisconsin: the “Wisconsin idea,” a left-populist notion that both government and economy should be accountable to the common man. The Idea goes back to the early twentieth century politician Robert La Follette; it is taught in Wisconsin schools and is often invoked to describe the mission of the state University system. There is nothing inherently exclusionary or chauvinist about the Wisconsin Idea; its purpose is to provide a big tent in which all Wisconsinites can define themselves as part of an imagined community with shared progressive values.

The University of Wisconsin dedicates a whole section of its [website](http://wisconsinidea.wisc.edu/) to expounding upon the Idea. Scott Walker apparently understands the significance of all this, since he recently tried to [delete](http://crooksandliars.com/2015/02/walker-proposes-killing-wisconsin-idea) references to the Wisconsin Idea from the university's mission statement, replacing it with some blather about "meeting the state's workforce needs."

This move met with substantial backlash, although it remains to be seen if the symbolism of the Wisconsin Idea can be effectively mobilized to push back Walker's substantive attempt to further dismantle the state's public sector.