It often appears that CEOs of some of the largest global corporations have made the cause of the woke their own. Their willingness to join the fray was demonstrated in their response to the launching of GB News in the UK. No sooner was this new, independent news...
The mere hint that a point of view is outdated serves as a signal that it need not be taken seriously. It can be legitimately vilified and condemned. As a sociology professor, I often take note of how students, faculty, and administration speak about topics of...
Ignore the culture war denialists – we really are in the midst of an existential struggle over the future of society. Unlike the German Kulturkampf of the 19th century – the cultural conflict between Bismarck’s Kingdom of Prussia and the Roman Catholic Church –...
8 February 2021 Experts in the US are calling for the creation of a Reality Czar. They mean a Ministry of Truth. At first I couldn’t believe what I was reading. A writer for the New York Times was enthusiastically supporting a call made by ‘several experts’ around the...
One of the most disturbing and fascinating developments in contemporary public debate is the attempt to normalise looting. Since the outbreak of Black Lives Matter protests a few months ago, there have been various efforts to rehabilitate violence and looting as...
The use of guns is becoming a common feature of the protests and violence raging in many parts of the United States. The way in which the Wisconsin city of Kenosha has been turned into a veritable warzone suggests that some people now see destructive behaviour as a...
Once again an act of terror has been committed on Britain’s streets by a convicted terrorist who had served only half of his sentence. Twenty-year-old Sudesh Amman, who was released from prison just under two weeks ago, must have laughed at the naivety of the British...
A few years ago, when I visited a well-known music venue in Nashville, Tennessee, I was struck by a feeling that there was something unusual going on in this place. It took a few minutes before I realised what was special about the venue: it was jam-packed with people...
Public life today is dominated by the politicisation of identity. The grand narratives of the age of ideology have given way to a cacophony of demands for validation from the latest cause-seekers to enter the marketplace of identities. So no sooner is white privilege...
In the twenty-first century, the privacy of individuals, groups and institutions is continually being tested, by a variety of forces that seem determined to undermine it. Computer hackers threaten to uncover the most personal details about our lives. Reports of...