Thread by @Scientific_Bird

The New Egalitarianism

I was recommended a paper by a follower. It's quite short and good so I recommend reading it!

He describes "The New Egalitarians", which are commonly called other names such as "Intersectional left" or pejoratives (e.g. "SJW")
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf… 1/n

(2/n) I will highlight some parts I found interesting.

It is egalitarianism with a focus on identity.

(3/n) The focus is on *structural inequality*.

(4/n) It draws on critical theory and related schools of thought. It emphasizes social power structures.

(5/n) Given its emphasis on structural inequality, this also comes with new definitions of terms such as "racism" and "sexism." They are used for structural inequality, and hence black people cannot be racist and women can't be sexist.

(6/n) The author also notes that "The New Egalitarians" lament the fact that it's so difficult to get people to accept these definitions.

Example in image below:
"Why is this hard?"

(7/n) Along with these new definitions of terms such as "racism" and "sexism", comes a whole host of other words that aren't used in everyday parlance.

(8/n) Evading criticism by referring to the identity of the critic. Those who aren't part of an oppressed identity haven't experienced oppression, and hence their criticism can safely be ignored.

They are simply 'deniers' or 'apologists' for systems of oppression.

(9/n) And if critics are part of an oppressed group, their criticism is simply evidence of their "internalized oppression."

(10/n) They are not pure relativists or traditional postmodernists as they are often characterized. They believe in some objective truths, like the existence of systems of oppression.

(11/n) The common enemy: "The New Egalitarians have settled on White Males as an identifiable Other that needs to be overcome."

(12/n) "If disagreement is dismissed as epistemically or morally unwarranted merely because it is disagreement, there is not much room for a productive conversation."

The perfect example of this is Robin DiAngelo's "white fragility."

Thread over. Thanks for reading.