Rothman is 100% correct. Increasingly, this new puritanism is coming from the left, not the old "church lady" right. I have come to think that most progressives prefer behavioural solutions to technological problems, Covid a classic illustration of this phenomenon. But it's not limited to the pandemic, which instead seems to have unleashed the worst kinds of Cromwellian style Puritanism.
Examples of the latter: global warming? Don’t switch to zero carbon nuclear. Make everybody change their diet, commute, where they live etc.
Covid? Don’t throw money at vaccines and pills. Dictate rules of mask etiquette (even to the extremes of making kids wear masks when they are playing instruments).
Racism? Don’t prosecute actual criminal racists, that’s not enough, everybody must undergo diversity training.
They are control freaks who want to micromanage everyone’s personal behaviour and they really aren’t interested in technical or engineering solutions to technical or engineering problems. “Science” is only invoked to lend credibility to this or that apocalypse, which justifies transferring power from elected officials to unelected experts with letters after their names who will reprogram our behaviour and reshape society.
From my position, roughly in the centre of the political spectrum, I now feel a bit less lonely. Thank you.
Rothman is 100% correct. Increasingly, this new puritanism is coming from the left, not the old "church lady" right. I have come to think that most progressives prefer behavioural solutions to technological problems, Covid a classic illustration of this phenomenon. But it's not limited to the pandemic, which instead seems to have unleashed the worst kinds of Cromwellian style Puritanism.
Examples of the latter: global warming? Don’t switch to zero carbon nuclear. Make everybody change their diet, commute, where they live etc.
Covid? Don’t throw money at vaccines and pills. Dictate rules of mask etiquette (even to the extremes of making kids wear masks when they are playing instruments).
Racism? Don’t prosecute actual criminal racists, that’s not enough, everybody must undergo diversity training.
They are control freaks who want to micromanage everyone’s personal behaviour and they really aren’t interested in technical or engineering solutions to technical or engineering problems. “Science” is only invoked to lend credibility to this or that apocalypse, which justifies transferring power from elected officials to unelected experts with letters after their names who will reprogram our behaviour and reshape society.
Great talk, thank you
https://theintercept.com/2022/06/13/progressive-organizing-infighting-callout-culture/
"[M]ost of these spaces on the left are just not — they’re not healthy. Like all these people are just not — they’re not doing well..."
This is why. The people I know who are like this are miserable people.