this is an introduction to a much larger body of thought.
Oh! In light of that, my criticism is diminished. I’ll edit my comment to reflect this.
I really want to believe that the hopes you express are well founded. But, I also want to believe what’s true. LW taught me to be (cutious/skeptical) when this happens, that’s why I was critical. I hope that my comment was useful as feedback, if not as critique.
Meta: I think some people have trouble distinguishing a discussion of the pressures that shape people’s views from sort of peeking into an individuals mind and seeing the hypothetical thought process that made someone profess those particular views.
Like, in your discussion of antiracist factions, you could read that as a describing people cynically [glancing side to side figuring out the most socially advantageous position to take], but I don’t think that was what the author intended, and I didn’t interpret it this way. I read it as people being themselves, but that their beliefs grew in a particular climate that encouraged some behaviours and not others.
If it isn’t already in your lexicon, it seems really difficult to convey. Jordan Peterson, for example, is someone apparently unable to make (perceive?) that distinction. I’d be interested to hear whether the author sees this distinction (I may not have conveyed it effectively, but I might have been able to point to an already familiar idea?).