Culture wars are for conformist zombies, not thinking people.
Recently, I have sought to emphasize that both sides are responsible for the culture wars, and they both need to be called out and challenged. In my previous article, I talked about the role of postmodern critical theory in poisoning the left. Today, I want to focus on what is poisoning the right: top-down orchestrated, conformist, tribalist culture war movements.
Just like last time, I'm going to start by saying that I don't disagree with conservative philosophy itself, as long as we are actually talking about the Burkean variety, not the 20th century counterfeit conservatism called 'fusionism', nor its apparent successor, 'postliberalism'. Over the years, I've indeed become more appreciative of Burkean conservative philosophy, especially its acknowledgement of the complexities of society, its rejection of 'progress' based on abstract philosophy alone, and its realistic assessment of what radical social upheaval would lead to. I've even come to believe that Burkean conservatism should be one of the major philosophies underpinning a truly centrist politics. Even the center-left could use some Burkean conservatism in its arguments against the postmodern far-left. The problem is, what we find on the organized political right these days, is largely not Burkean conservatism. It is instead a transnational tribalist culture war movement, ultimately designed to serve the interests of the Republican Party in America and its counterparts in other Western countries.
My biggest problem with right-wing culture warriorism isn't even with its content, although there is indeed a lot to disagree with there. My biggest problem is that it is an exercise in shutting down independent thinking, just like postmodern critical theory activism on the left. Right-wing culture war talking points are developed by right-wing activists and think tanks, disseminated through right-wing media both traditional (like Fox News) and new (like the countless right-wing influencers on YouTube), and imprinted as truth in the minds of the culture warriors on the ground through repeated indoctrination, supported by deliberately biased, one-sided reporting. There is no room for independent thinking there. Indeed, what I worry is that those involved in right-wing culture warriorism are likely under a lot of peer pressure to toe the party line even if they privately have doubts. The media talking heads and influencers' lock-step agreement on every talking point makes it even more difficult to dissent from the manufactured consensus. I believe it is this phenomenon, in turn, that is turning former moderates into hardliners. Witnessing the evolution of people like Jordan Peterson and Nikki Haley in this direction is truly painful.
The right-wing culture warriors' treatment of LGBT issues in particular demonstrates their hypocritical double-standards. They say they believe in free speech, but it is clear that they only believe in free speech when it suits them. They have no problem with Ron DeSantis's war on Disney, using the tyranny of the mob to punish Bud Light and Target, the banning of controversial books and drag performances, and so on. They decry authoritarian activists who force them to agree with 'trans women are women' or use a trans person's preferred pronouns, but they also openly mock and attack those who believe 'trans women are women' from their own good conscience, and put enormous peer pressure on their fellow conservatives not to use a trans person's preferred pronouns, effectively making them a mirror image of the authoritarian left activists. Their stinking hypocrisy has become a stain on the reputation of the free speech movement, and I truly regret the movement not kicking them out back in the 2010s. This is why I believe that any classical liberal movement going forward should reject all alliances with the reactionary right, even if it is only on an issue-by-issue basis.
The existence of right-wing culture warriorism also complicates things in other ways. For example, my regular readers would know that I am strongly opposed to postmodern critical theory, on both classical liberal and Burkean conservative grounds. I have been attempting to lay out the philosophical case against postmodern critical theory in the past five to seven years. However, recently, the weaponization of this issue by right-wing culture warriors has made the conversation increasingly difficult. Ever since President Trump and Christopher Rufo tried to turn critical race theory into a political football, it has become harder and harder for me to get my message across, especially to those on the left side of the political spectrum. This is not surprising, given how 'anti-woke' has become coded as Republican in the eyes of many people nowadays. More recently, Ron DeSantis has sought to make being anti-woke a signature of his campaign. The association of 'anti-woke' with DeSantis has become so strong that even some Trump supporters are beginning to somewhat turn against the focus on 'woke'. Nowadays, whenever I talk about postmodern critical theory, I feel like I have to take care to make people understand that I don't support DeSantis and his authoritarian policies, in case there are any misunderstandings.
Taken together, these points demonstrate that right-wing culture warriorism is no less harmful to free speech and the marketplace of ideas than left-wing postmodern critical theory. I therefore believe that it at least deserves our equal concern and criticism. We need to push back hard on illiberalism from both the left and the right alike, and in doing so, take an honest stance for freedom.
