“I think that there’s a lot of people more concerned about being precisely, factually, and semantically correct than about being morally right.” (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, US congressional representative and activist) Equity is defined as the quality of being fair and impartial (OED). As such it is uncontroversial and clearly a good thing, something we should all… Continue reading Equity Explained, Part 2: The Misdirecting Hand
Category: Politics
Equity Explained, Part 1: The Promise and Problems of Equality
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” (George Orwell, Animal Farm) A new wind, balmy and soothing, is blowing through the halls of academe, the corporate world and civil society generally. Its name is equity, diversity and inclusion, frequently known by the acronym EDI. Its very suggestive reasonableness – even… Continue reading Equity Explained, Part 1: The Promise and Problems of Equality
Counting the Cost of Social Justice
It is a key feature of the Culture Wars that they tend to be winner-takes-all affairs. This is arguably because both sides tend to adopt rights-based approaches, then to assert mutually incompatible sets of rights. But is there not a more fruitful way of conducting moral discourse whereby the protagonists of both sides engage with each other in a less confrontational manner?
Collectivism and the Intolerability of Uncertainty
Collectivism is back in fashion at the moment, particularly with the young in the West, who have no experience of living in collectivist societies and who are a generation or two removed from the experience of their effects in the political sphere, and also with those who are enamoured of the moral kudos that comes… Continue reading Collectivism and the Intolerability of Uncertainty
Emancipation with a Clenched Fist: A Critique of Postmodern Critical Theory
At a time when we are encouraged to nod through policies embedding “diversity, inclusion and equality” in our places of work and subject to their ubiquitous manifestation in our entertainment industries, few recognise that this is not the spontaneous and organic growth of the desire of the mass of ordinary people but the outcome of… Continue reading Emancipation with a Clenched Fist: A Critique of Postmodern Critical Theory
Universal Values in the Postmodern Era
The pursuit of universal values has a a long history as humans have sought a basis for a harmonious, shared life. But there is a danger that in striving to establish universal values, the perfect becomes the enemy of the good. Perhaps we need to resist this temptation and acknowledge instead the context-dependence of all valuing.
The Bureaucratic and Authoritarian Implications of “The Science”
One of the victims of covid and the reactions to the pandemic, has been the reputation of science. This is best summed up in the slogan which emerged during the pandemic, the admonition to “FOLLOW THE SCIENCE!”, which was parroted by scientifically semi-literate pundits whenever anyone had the temerity to question the official version on… Continue reading The Bureaucratic and Authoritarian Implications of “The Science”
Book Review: Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay, “Cynical Theories: How Universities Made Everything about Race, Gender and Identity – and Why This Harms Everybody”
It tells us something when a potential reviewer of a book is warned that so doing could spell the end of their academic career, or when a scheduled lecture or guest speaker is cancelled because students declare themselves unsafe while threatening violent disruption, or the plug is pulled on important research because one person feels… Continue reading Book Review: Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay, “Cynical Theories: How Universities Made Everything about Race, Gender and Identity – and Why This Harms Everybody”
The Theatre of Unreason: War and Identity Politics
Is there a connection between Putin’s war in Ukraine and identity politics? The de facto Russian dictator’s contempt for the woke politics of the Western world is well-documented, though the extent to which a consideration of the West as morally corrupt has played any part in his decision-making is unknown. So the attempt by some… Continue reading The Theatre of Unreason: War and Identity Politics
The Totalitarian Ratchet: how fear, ignorance and disgust is eroding the democratic spirit and presages an ominous future.
The recent decision by Austria to mandate vaccinations for all its citizens, followed now by Germany and the Czech Republic, is the latest turn of the ratchet in the process by which democracies collapse into authoritarian, even fascist, states. It is one thing when a dictatorship is imposed on an unwilling population by a minority;… Continue reading The Totalitarian Ratchet: how fear, ignorance and disgust is eroding the democratic spirit and presages an ominous future.