"We are each ‘contaminated’ and ‘defiled’ by capitalism, patriarchy, power, white supremacy, and heteronormativity. Once this is understood, it is obvious why Scruton and Levin – as well as countless others – received the treatment they did. Either you are with the oppressed, and therefore on the side of the angels, or you are implicitly supporting the side of the oppressors, and a damnable and unrepentant sinner. It is a straightforward binary moral choice and its missionaries will take no prisoners."
"Truly, in order to have any serious discussion about diversity in classical music, we must come to terms with this seemingly unpleasant and perhaps even painful fact: throughout most of history, classical music has almost exclusively been the pastime of rich white men. It is a genre birthed out of Medieval Europe that grew up just as basic concepts like heliocentrism and human rights were beginning to take hold. It is a pursuit that for centuries was only available to the most affluent aristocrats—overwhelmingly white—in a predominantly illiterate, wretchedly impoverished male-led society. How can we expect it to be anything other than “white male?”"
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"At its most extreme, the idea that all men are socialized by a vaguely conceived ‘patriarchy’ into regressive attitudes about rape or killing, is at best misguided, and at worst damaging to how we educate boys to become men."
"Ezra Klein and Matthew Yglesias are familiar with the tactic of slandering opponents as racist and coordinating that narrative behind closed doors. Yet Klein denied doing the same thing to Harris and Murray on this week’s podcast."
"In 1983, having postponed publication of his thesis as a mark of respect, Freeman finally published Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth, in which he contested almost every one of Mead’s romantic depictions of Samoan society. One of Freeman’s core claims was that sex before marriage is actually forbidden in Samoan culture, and he described a puritan ceremony that painted the Samoans as obsessed with virginity"
"Chairman Xi Jinping is preparing to prolong his rule beyond the end of his second term, thereby breaking with the two-term limit set by Deng Xiaoping. The two-term limit had been one of the few civilized elements of China’s political system, checking the worst excesses of despotism and providing some structure for the peaceful transfer of power.
Xi’s stunt is, however, only the latest episode in China’s creeping return to more intensified political control. This development has yet to show its full destructive impact on China’s economic development (for that, we must wait a few more years), but it is already having a devastating effect in the realm of ideas, as it is the final nail in the coffin of the ‘China model’ philosophy."
"All of this weirdness – the relentless pecking away at reason and common sense, the indulgence of fantasy, the attempts at shaming, and the assaults on the sensibilities of common folk and educated people alike – is sending sensible people scrambling for the exits. The centre is growing, becoming populated with refugees from the places that used to contain certainties. A heartening alternative to the trenches, no-man’s land is making bedfellows of strangers who find themselves turning to their former antagonists for comfort in the night. It’s a place where a person can breathe, look around, and make new friends."
"As anthropologist David G. Gilmore notes in Manhood in the Making, exhortations such as “be a man” are common across societies throughout the world. Such remarks represent the recognition that being a man came with a set of duties and responsibilities. If men failed to stay cool under pressure in the midst of hunting or warfare, and thus failed to provide for, or protect, their families and allies, this would have been devastating to their societies."
"Deliberately discarding consilience as a salient part of scholarly endeavour carries profound ethical implications, and amounts to the forced segregation of presently-available knowledge. It is easy to sympathize with tenure-track researchers, the value and longevity of their life’s work threatened by the intrusion of unfamiliar expertise – but, as scholars, they should know that avoiding contact with competing insights is tantamount to wilful ignorance."
"As this logic spreads from the universities to mainstream publications like The Atlantic, conservatives come to be seen as toxic. If the idea is that offensive speech can be violent, their very presence is dangerous. But this seldom applies to leftists. They have the right to offend, as well as the right not to be offended."
"[E]vidence for social constructionism is a mirage in the desert. It does not exist. Most people in the humanities – including those who are able to express their opinions freely without fear of being fired – presuppose that gender roles are social constructs, and that the results obtained by natural scientists are determined by their social and political environment. Thousands of pages of academic ‘research’ express such notions, and thousands of university students are taught that this is how things are. But it is all hot air. The whole scenario is reminiscent of The Emperor’s New Clothes – nobody listens to the little boy who alone has the courage to point out that the Emperor is naked."
"The possibility of livestock farming being part of the solution rather than the problem is looking increasingly probable, logical, and exciting. But for it to succeed, consumers of all tendencies need to be aware of the issues and make choices about the kind of meat they buy and eat. It does not mean we all have to eat meat, but conversely, we should think twice before promoting vegetarianism as the default green option. By many counts, permanent pasture is greener than arable land and silvopastoralism is better still. Your choices as a consumer determine which we see in the future."
"The creeping fear is that Jeremy Corbyn’s historified anti-Semitism magnifies an existential threat to life. It was a threat of which Europe was reminded last week, when 85-year-old Mireille Knoll, a Holocaust survivor, was stabbed and immolated in her flat in Paris. Yet Corbyn’s focus remains on the internal dynamics of his powerbase. ‘Moderate’ MPs who joined in the anti-Semitism demonstration are now apparently being targeted for deselection."
"Radical adherents [to critical legal theory] believe that the logic and structure attributed to the law grow out of the power relationships of society. Thus, the law exists simply to support the interests of the dominant group and is merely a collection of beliefs and prejudices that legitimise injustice in society."
"Hari offers communal salvation for lonely angels. Peterson issues a challenge to cortically-enhanced lobsters: you’re not all you could be, Bucko!
In other words, they’re both appealing to human beings, and their messages are resonating."
A review of 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos, by Jordan B Peterson, and Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari.
"The utility of allegiance to a group – be it a nation, an ethnic group, a tribe, or a family unit – is much as Lilla describes it. Our basic pre-commitment to those who share our culture or circumstances allows us to function together in wider political, social, and even physical environments in which common concerns and obstacles require common responses, facilitated by common bonds. But when the perceived interests of a group of people come into conflict with reason and morality, they contradict the interests of society and humanity more broadly, at which point identity politics can no longer serve the best interests of the group or its members. As Harris argues, it is reason that can save us from the consequences of our own prejudices and those of our tribes."
