Links to Consider, November 5

A Discussion of The Revolt of the Elites; Lorenzo Warby on Critical Constructivism; Rabbi Jason Rubenstein on anti-semitism; Ruth Wisse on anti-semitism; Lukianoff and Schlott on cancel culture

Stephanie Slade, Tanner Greer, and I discuss Christopher Lasch’s The Revolt of the Elites, written in 1994. Slade points out that a lot people who would not have been considered by Lasch to be part of the elites back then are now participating in the knowledge economy, traveling overseas, and otherwise behaving like Anywheres. Greer points out that the non-elites are no longer the solid bastion of intact families and religious observance that Lasch portrayed.

I think it that the discussion is interesting throughout.

Next month, I’ll be discussing Emmanuel Todd’s Lineages of the Feminine. Tuesday, November 28, 3 PM New York time. Panelists TBA. Free for anyone. Register here.

Lorenzo Warby writes,

Critical Constructivism does this by seeing our cognitive framings, and our reasons for action, as socially constructed. It denies any definitive knowledge of—or reference to—reality: the Constructivist bit. It claims all human interactions are based on power relationships. They’re also irretrievably polluted by past sins through failing to live up to the imagined, transformative future: the Critical bit.

To embrace properly the politics of the transformative—the liberatory—future is to achieve a Critical Consciousness.

If reality is socially constructed, then the transformative future can be constructed. Moral and cognitive legitimacy comes from manifesting commitment to the transformational future through Critical Consciousness or through what those with a Critical Consciousness approve.

This is the revolutionary doctrine that attacks Western civilization. It is at the heart of the rot on college campuses and K-12 education. Many people are aware of the problem, and several have already published books about it. Examples include James Lindsay and Helen Pluckrose (Cynical Theories) as well as Yascha Mounk (The Identity Trap). Warby’s value added is in explaining how the theory, rhetoric, and practice of this doctrine all fits together.

Rabbi Jason Rubenstein writes,

antisemitism is a fear, and hatred, of Jewish power - expressed primarily as a readiness to believe that Jews, when organized and acting together on large scales, are dangerous, the very essence of evil.

Pointer from one of my readers.

Ruth Wisse says,

I think that there’s a lot of anti-Americanism in this. This is basically an anti-American movement.

…You really have to have now, at this point, a very serious counter movement to say, “We are not going to tolerate this anymore.” No one can call the legitimacy of Israel into question and no one can use the phrase of, “Free Palestine,” as a Orwellian formulation for, “Kill the Jews of Israel.” We won’t allow it. And I think that’s our challenge at this point, to see whether we can stop a movement that still can be stopped before it gets even more out of control.

Unfortunately, I think that most people would prefer to live in a fantasy world in which people who hate Jews are basically just fine. In the fantasy world, after the war against the Jews triumphs, things will settle down, America will still be a free country, and there will be peace and prosperity—just not for Jews.

Jordan Peterson interviews Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott. Around 15 minutes in, Peterson talks about differences in the way that feminine and male aggression play out. About minute 20, Peterson claims that women cannot run universities without ruining them. He asserts that the authoritarian temperament is correlated first of all with low IQ and second with being female.

Schlott responds that we have to teach, starting at a very young age, rationality rather than always “validating” emotions. Lukianoff warns against over-generalizing about gender. Some of the leading opponents of cancel culture are women.

As you know, I have a concern about feminization in higher education. So I found this discussion interesting.

When I consider how to incorporate personality psychology into my world view, I give it more weight than zero but quite a bit less weight than Jordan Peterson gives it. The science is unsettled, and culture provides some important intervening variables.

That said, I think that as a podcaster he is excellent. He provokes his guests in a constructive way. I certainly recommend this podcast. But for the most part, I stay away from podcasts. For me, they are not sufficiently information dense. And when I’m walking or biking, I don’t consider being alone with my own thoughts to be a waste of time.

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Trapped within Theory