Thread by @docrussjackson

Interesting, balanced & nuanced article by Neil McLaughlin: 'The Jordan Peterson Phenomena: Why Fromm’s ideas and public intellectual vision is essential for responding to reactionary populism'.

fromm-gesellschaft.eu/images/pdf-Dat…

I'm not going to summarise the whole paper, but McLaughlin attempts to account for the popularity & influence of Peterson in a respectful way.

While critiquing Peterson's intellectual status, he offers interesting insights & calls for fairer & more measured critique of Peterson.

McLaughlin is a scholar of the work of Erich Fromm - a controversial German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, philosopher, & democratic socialist. Fromm was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime & settled in the US. His influences are similar to those of Peterson.

Most Fromm scholars are on the progressive side of the political spectrum, & are likely to be familiar with the criticisms of Peterson’s views that are common in liberal/left media & in universities & of his links to the Right.

Fromm was FOR the regulation of businesses & media.

Fromm believed market values left to their own devices, would create a pathological form of individualism, a dishonest & inauthentic marketing character, & would lead to a lifestyle that threatens both the spiritual health of humans & the very existence of life on the planet.

Peterson believes that markets & capitalism will improve human life on the planet, leading to more wealth, less poverty, & the creation of an essential bulwark against the brutality of life itself.

Fromm & Peterson shared existentialist assumptions about the human condition.

Fromm & Peterson were both close readers of Nietzsche & Dostoevsky, but they had different views of human nature that flowed from their distinct political philosophies.

They both understood how brutal & violent human beings can be.

Fromm put far more emphasis on the possibilities of cooperation rooted in human nature, whereas Peterson’s analogy of competitive lobsters who fight each other in endless dominance hierarchies, signals his center-right sympathies.

It's possible to find some of Peterson's ideas & political points compelling without agreeing with them & thus attacks on Peterson or his followers as being 'right-wing Nazis' simply confirms the validity of Peterson's attacks on the 'authoritarianism of social justice warriors'.

Opponents of Peterson’s politics make a mistake when they attempt to shut his talks down, get him fired or shame young people who listen to his videos or attend his lectures. Personal attacks won’t work, will build him a more loyal fan base & often serve to discredit his critics.

McLaughlin is calling for more measured & intelligent critique of the worst excesses of Peterson's ideas.

The demons of fascism are walking again among us, & we need to develop sane alternatives - a task for a new generation of psychosocial influenced political intellectuals.

McLaughlin says that Jordan Peterson is not the problem or the issue but "his popularity is a canary in our coal mine. It's time for us to write, speak, mobilize, heal, & theorize with the vision for radical hope & social change, revised where it needs to be, that Fromm left us".