Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to comments on his review of 'The Origins of Woke', covering various aspects of civil rights law, workplace discrimination, and the spread of 'wokeness'. Longer summary

This post highlights various comments on Scott Alexander's review of Richard Hanania's book 'The Origins of Woke'. The comments cover a wide range of topics including personal experiences with workplace discrimination, the origins and spread of 'wokeness', civil rights law in different countries, EEOC lawsuits, and various other related subjects. The post provides a balanced view of different perspectives on these issues, showing both support for and criticism of Hanania's arguments. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'The Origins of Woke', finding its critique of civil rights law informative but skeptical of its claim that such laws caused wokeness. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Richard Hanania's book 'The Origins of Woke', which argues that civil rights law is the source of modern woke culture. The book provides a critical overview of civil rights legislation, focusing on affirmative action, disparate impact, and harassment law. While Scott finds the critique of civil rights law informative, he is skeptical of the book's central claim that this legislation is the primary cause of wokeness. He notes that the book fails to explain the recent surge in woke culture and omits discussion of other potential factors. Scott suggests the book may be primarily aimed at influencing conservative policymakers rather than providing a comprehensive academic analysis. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews Rene Girard's 'I See Satan Fall Like Lightning', critiquing its theory of myths and religion centered on scapegoating, and discussing its application to modern 'wokeness'. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Rene Girard's book 'I See Satan Fall Like Lightning', which presents an ambitious theory of anthropology, mythography, and Judeo-Christian religion. Girard argues that pagan myths and Bible stories describe the same psychosocial process he calls the 'single-victim process' or 'Satan'. This process involves mimetic desire leading to conflict, which is resolved by the community turning against a scapegoat. Girard claims Christianity uniquely reveals this process as evil. The review critiques Girard's theory as overly broad and not fitting many myths and Bible stories. It also discusses Girard's views on modern 'wokeness' as an extension of Christian concern for victims, but notes Girard's struggle to reconcile this with his conservative Christian views. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander discusses Fabian vs Berserker strategies for an academic fighting wokeness, exploring various considerations and seeking reader input. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses strategies for an academic who wants to fight for academic freedom against wokeness. He presents two approaches: the Fabian Strategy (gradually building influence and opposing wokeness from within) and the Berserker Strategy (actively picking fights and challenging woke policies). The post explores various considerations, including the impact of hard-won victories, the effect of protests, convincing factors for changing views on wokeness, comparisons to historical movements like New Atheism and civil rights, potential negative consequences of poorly-planned resistance, and the current trajectory of wokeness in society. Scott seeks reader input on the best approach. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews the obscure psychoanalytic book 'Sadly, Porn', attempting to decipher its core ideas about human psychology and society. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'Sadly, Porn' by Edward Teach, a complex and obscure psychoanalytic work. He attempts to decipher the book's core ideas about human psychology, desire, and societal structures, while grappling with its intentionally difficult style and controversial claims. The review explores themes of envy, status-seeking, and the modern psyche's relationship with corporations and technology, as well as the book's critique of contemporary politics and culture. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explores reasons why some readers think his writing quality has declined, addressing various factors from idea exhaustion to intellectual progression. Longer summary

Scott Alexander responds to readers' claims that his writing quality has declined since 2013-2016. He explores several potential reasons, including having exhausted his backlog of ideas, the rationalist community's evolution, improved media quality, reduced need to criticize 'wokeness', psychological impacts of criticism, changing writing style with blog growth, and intellectual progression to more nuanced topics. He also addresses specific theories about selling out or being scared into submission, which he says don't match his experience. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander suggests Republicans should focus on fighting cultural classism to broaden their appeal and unite their base. Longer summary

Scott Alexander proposes a strategy for the Republican Party to pivot towards fighting classism as a way to maintain relevance and appeal to a broader base. He suggests that the party should focus on the cultural aspects of class rather than economic ones, positioning themselves as champions of the working class against the upper class. The post outlines several potential policy areas, including reforming higher education, challenging the concept of expertise, critiquing upper-class media, and reframing the debate on 'wokeness' as a class issue. Alexander argues that this approach could unite various Republican constituencies and potentially attract new voters, including minorities. Shorter summary