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Tuesday 23 August 2022

The New Puritans

 




A useful video on the nature and origins of woke culture. Andrew Doyle discusses his upcoming book, "The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World". Particularly apt are the comparisons he makes with the Salem witch trials.

4 comments:

DiscoveredJoys said...

...which exposes the importance of words. Social Justice Warrior implies there is social injustice that should be battled. Whereas Self-indulgent Hysterical Vigilante carries a different implication. SJW or SHV?

Sam Vega said...

A great interview, many thanks for sharing it.

I particularly liked the idea that much - nearly all - of what passes for intelligent criticism of culture is the question of whether that culture entrenches or challenges power structures embedded within society. That question is probably quite pertinent in some ways, but it spectacularly misses the point in most cases. Social Justice Warriors are just dullards who nobody has interrupted as they drone on with their GCSE level opinions. It's good to see people like Doyle starting to interrupt them.

dearieme said...

Worried And Nurturing Kind Environmental Revolutionary.

A K Haart said...

DJ - yes, much of it is the corruption of language. They aren't even warriors in any worthwhile sense. That word alone is enough to make them seem at least slightly silly.

Sam - yes, Social Justice Warriors are just dullards. It's a weakness because they are quite easy to parody as Doyle has shown very effectively via 'Titania McGrath'. It does at least seem possible that in ten years we'll wonder what it was all about. I hope so.

dearieme - and probably the best they can hope for.