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Aug 21, 2024
acx

Lukianoff And Defining Cancel Culture

15 min • 2,096 words • 1,004 comments • 226 likes • podcast (13 min)
Scott Alexander examines Greg Lukianoff's definition of cancel culture and explores its limitations through hypothetical scenarios, arguing for a more nuanced understanding to strengthen anti-cancel-culture coalitions. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses Greg Lukianoff's definition of cancel culture and explores its limitations through a series of hypothetical scenarios. He argues that while Lukianoff's definition is a good start, it doesn't address many nuanced edge cases. The post presents various examples involving pedophilia, controversial research, and media reactions to offensive content. Scott emphasizes the need for a more robust definition to strengthen anti-cancel-culture coalitions and clarify what actions are acceptable or not. He concludes that while it's difficult to define cancel culture precisely, more work on these questions could help create stronger agreements among those opposing it. Shorter summary
Mar 10, 2022
acx

Advice For Unwoke Academic?

12 min • 1,627 words • 1,047 comments • 174 likes • podcast (13 min)
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
Apr 12, 2017
ssc

Clarification To “Sacred Principles As Exhaustible Resources”

8 min • 996 words • 697 comments
Scott clarifies that he supports free speech for all, but criticizes deliberately seeking controversy when choosing speakers to defend free speech principles. Longer summary
Scott Alexander clarifies his previous post about 'Sacred Principles As Exhaustible Resources', addressing misunderstandings. He emphasizes that he's not against defending controversial speakers like Charles Murray or Jordan Peterson, but criticizes the process of deliberately seeking out controversial figures to test free speech principles. Scott argues that while free speech should protect everyone, the political process of defending it should strategically choose sympathetic test cases to build public support, similar to how the NAACP chose Rosa Parks. He warns against deliberately seeking out the most controversial figures as test cases, as this can harm the cause of free speech in the long run. Shorter summary