The Perilous State of the University: Jonathan Haidt & Jordan B Peterson

Excellent talk on the current dysfunctional state of politics and dissent in US universities. Gets into parenting as well towards the end. Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist who’s written some excellent books in this area, and is currently involved in the Heterodox Academy, “an organization designed to draw attention to the lack of diversity of political belief in the humanities and the social sciences.” Lest one think Haidt is some kind of right-wing icon, he is a self-professed liberal and atheist. Well worth the watch for those interested in such things

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IBegL_V6AA

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As most people here know, I’m fairly liberal. Or at least left enough that I hate Trump and liked Obama. But when I was doing my Masters I didn’t pass the leftist purity test among my peers. I remember being lectured about how only white people can be racist for half an hour in one class, while everyone nodded in stern, humorless agreement. But the cherry on top was when a classmate yelled at me to stop oppressing her with my “heteronormative talking points.” Then there’s the fact that comedians don’t even book college campuses anymore, because these young kids are just looking for any excuse to take umbrage and be #outraged. The left have become what they used to mock about the right; buttoned-up, self-righteous, censorship crazy prudes.

And then there’s this, which is just brilliant. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j556MWGVVqI

(And nobody start with “this is why you should be on the right”, because I can’t fucking stand them either)

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you just criticized current year liberal theory. It’s not that you should be on the right: you already are a literal nazi.

Welcome to the party!

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Identity politics is not ‘left’ or ‘leftist’. It’s center right and neoliberal and would struggle to be any more bourgeois. I’m a bit right wing, by the way.

It’s astonishing how liberals like Jordan Peterson have been linked to the far right. Supporting freedom of speech and expression makes one far right. Really? Things have changed.

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Then I’m a “literal nazi” who believes in sensible gun control measures, the Paris Accord climate change agreement, same-sex marriage, stricter banking regulations, and universal healthcare. :man_shrugging:

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Straight out of Mein Kampf.

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Identity politics is not right wing. It’s originates in the Frankfurt school group of philosophers. Essentially, they were Marxists who came up with the idea of aligning with racial and sexual minorities as well as feminist women to undermine western capitalism. This is what is known as “Cultural Marxism” and you’ll find that Peterson references this term often along with postmodernism, which the urban dictionary defines succinctly as “…the ultimate lubricant invented by social sciences in order to fuck every concept and structure that humans ever came up with.”

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I seem to recall reading this post before. Must be déjà vu. My point was not where or when identity politics first became a thing, but how it is now.

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I’ve given you the origins of identity politics, which prove it is a left wing ideology. Now, I will grant that identity politics are often used by the corporatist wing of soft left-wing parties (US Democrats, for example) to cloak their corporate agendas. However, all major left-wing parties incorporate the ideology to varying degrees. No conservative parties do. The ideology itself is an adaptation of the Marxist class struggle with the group oppression/oppressor narrative applied to race, gender and sexuality groups. So, I don’t understand how you deem it right-wing. Perhaps you could provide a little detail?

You’ve already provided a little detail: “corporatist wing of soft left-wing parties (US Democrats, for example) to cloak their corporate agendas”. I wouldn’t class the US Democrats as “soft left-wing”, though. They are center right. Me too, albeit in a different kind of right.

You state that no conservative parties incorporate the ideology. If someone identifies as a conservative then surely it follows that

Actually don’t bother. Identity politics is bollocks on both/ all/ no/same sides.

I don’t have enough unicorns to reward that statement. :rofl:

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Jonathan Haidt, always interesting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG6HbWw2RF4

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