Mageborn identity politics? Or better not?

In all the discussions about mages and templars, most people have implicitly assumed that the mageborn are what I'd call a "natural faction", meaning that they have an intrinsic identity by virtue of being mageborn, so that they naturally associate with other mageborn regardless of other differences, in order to further common interests as mageborn.

The alternative picture is that there is no such natural affiliation, that being mageborn is an accident of birth that's in no way more important than other affiliations acquired through culture, education, learning etc..

This is important because the dominant ideology of southern Thedas asserts that "the mages" will become rulers and oppress everyone else if they're not kept in the Circles. This assumes that the natural difference there is - in having the potential for magic - will create an identity that influences other preferences - like, for instance, the desire to rule as a group. The question here is: if a mageborn has the desire to rule, why should she desire to rule in the name of and for the mageborn, rather than for her nation, her religion, her personal power etc... Why is is that people assume that if a mageborn comes to rule, this will mean that "mages rule"?

The answer, of course, is that if you are perceived as different because of some trait, then people will be likely to assume that you will associate with others having the same trait, and possibly work against you if you don't share that trait. Irrational, but that's how people are. Being perceived as different is problematic because it masks that the mageborn are people. They want, to a very large degree, the same things all people want: to live reasonably happy and fulfilling lives, to have friends and families, or not, like other people, etc. etc.. If the mageborn embrace that separateness and construct an identity from being mageborn, they enhance that perception of difference, and any potential of the majority to see them as "having magic, but really like other people" will be diminished.

Now, unlike other perceived differences we have in the real world, being mageborn is actually a *significant* difference. The question, then, is this: is this difference signficant enough to qualify the mageborn as a natural faction? Will the interactions between mageborn and non-mageborn be weighted enough, because of the difference in personal power, to make them intrinsically problematic? Will it be unavoidable that mageborn and non-mageborn see each other more as "other" than as "just other people"?

If the answer is "no", then integration into society is possible and desirable, and any identity politics based on a perception of difference is a double-edged sword: it may give you more political influence as a group, but it will enhance others' perception of difference and make it much harder to create a society where it doesn't matter if you're mageborn or not, apart from areas where your magic - on an individual basis - actually becomes important.

If the answer is "yes", then integration is unlikely and the mageborn are indeed better advised to act as a group and create a separate society of their own. Co-existence may still be possible, and conflicts may arise and come to an end again like between any other groups, but we'll have in effect a different race with a much better claim of intrinsic difference than anything we have in the real world, and the mageborn might become a different species over time.

Segregation or integration? Where do you stand? For the purpose of this discussion, "segregation" should not be regarded as a bad word. The Circles segregate in a bad way (for the mageborn, at least), but not any segregation need be of that type, or imposed from without.