In this interview, John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, James Lindsay, and Helen Pluckrose discuss the danger posed by the postmodernist movement to liberal freedoms, the rise of ‘wokeness’, identity politics, and cultural Marxism.
James Lindsay is an American author, mathematician, and political commentator, holding a degree in physics and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Tennessee. He is the author of six books covering a wide range of topics, including postmodernism, religion, and the philosophy of science.
Helen Pluckrose is a British academic and author. She writes extensively on cultural and political matters and serves as the editor-in-chief of Aero magazine. In 2020, Lindsay and Pluckrose released the highly-acclaimed book ‘Cynical Theories‘, which tracks the evolution of postmodernist ideas from the fringes of the academy to the front page of Twitter.
I found this interview helpful in understanding what is unfolding in America and other western societies. The term wokeness had me baffled but James unpacked it brilliantly. You need to watch this video and possibly buy the book Critical/Cynical Theories if you really want to understand and speak out against the social-justice activism that is taking over the minds of the media and our young people.
One positive review: Cynical Theories is essential reading for anyone looking to reform or preserve the classical Western academy.