Cynical Theories How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay

Do you feel like social justice advocacy has gone too far? Or like you have to constantly be careful about what you say? The authors of Cynical Theories agree and explain how this came to be. While past movements for equality used to fight for concrete issues, the authors contend that contemporary activists and scholars are instead more concerned with policing language and culture, shutting down rational debate, and challenging the very foundations of liberal society.In our guide to Cynical Theories, we’ll show how, in the authors’ view, social justice scholarship and activism changed from a force for good to a dangerous movement with totalitarian tendencies. We’ll also discuss why the tenets of liberalism—namely freedom of speech and belief in science—are more important now than ever. Through our commentary, we’ll offer insights and alternate views on the history of social justice and its impact on our modern world.