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Doing Social Justice Responsibly | Helen Pluckrose

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4.8 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2024

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In her talk, Doing Social Justice Responsibly on October 13, 2019 at the 'Speaking Truth to Social Justice' conference in London, Helen Pluckrose tackled the ideological excesses within social justice activism, offering a way to address genuine social justice issues without abandoning reason or liberal principles. She argued that the dominant framework in social justice today—rooted in critical theory and postmodernism—has transformed genuine concerns about power and privilege into a rigid worldview. This ideology, she explained, rejects objective truth and promotes “strategic knowledge,” constructed to serve specific identity-based agendas rather than being tested against reality. Pluckrose acknowledged that while social justice concepts like bias, cultural narratives, and the power of language have validity, the radicalized methods often used within social justice turn productive critiques into dogma. Instead of engaging in open dialogue, activists demand conformity, condemning dissenting views as tools of privilege. She urged liberals and conservatives alike to stand for a balanced approach to social justice—one that promotes fairness without sacrificing truth and the ideals of secular liberalism. Viewers will find this talk interesting not just for its contents but also for the glimpse back in time by five years, which allows them to see how the views expressed have matured and developed over the intervening time. New book! The Queering of the American Child: https://queeringbook.com/ Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2024 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #SocialJustice

Transcript

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0:00.0

I think we should just go through these ideas quickly one more time.

0:08.0

Society is structured by systems of power which uphold privilege and marginalisation.

0:14.0

These include patriarchy, white supremacy, imperialism, heteronormativity, the assumption that people are heterosexual,

0:22.6

cis normativity, the assumption that one's gender identity matches one's reproductive system,

0:27.6

ableism and fat phobia.

0:30.6

People are positioned within these power structures by their identity,

0:34.6

race, gender, sexuality and more. They are then either enabled to succeed or hindered from doing so, depending on what that is.

0:43.3

There is no objective knowledge or objectively better morality.

0:48.3

Due to the socially constructed nature of knowledge, different groups have different

0:52.3

knowledge related to their identity.

0:55.0

The knowledge of privileged groups is what is accepted as legitimate knowledge.

1:00.0

Other knowledge is considered illegitimate, and this is the result of an unjust application of power and nothing to do with accuracy.

1:08.0

Because of this, members of dominant groups are unable to see these systems of power or other knowledge systems,

1:14.6

but marginalised people often can see more.

1:17.6

Knowledge and morality are constructed in this way by discourses, ways of talking about things.

1:23.6

Therefore language is inherently dangerous.

1:26.6

Due to the positional nature of knowledge

1:29.8

and morality, liberal notions of individuality and humanism are largely myths which perpetuate

1:36.1

privilege. This is an alarming and bleak worldview. It seriously undermines any attempts

1:42.3

for people to relate to each other as individuals or to

1:45.3

recognise their shared humanity. Furthermore, it's unfalsifiable. Because of the belief that privileged

1:51.9

people are both unable to see their own privilege and motivated to resist believing in it,

...

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