Philosopher John Gray has called “hyper-liberalism” – a sort of contagious form of self-righteous do-good’ishness that is all about ticking every single politically correct and quota-filling inclusivity agenda at the expense of individual deliberation and debate.
Hyper-liberalism is insidious, suggests Gray, promoting consensual agreement and a kind of creepily fake liberal group-think over independent intellectual enquiry and aesthetic excellence.
While seeming to be all about decency and fairness and wanting everyone to have an equal shot at things, it is, in fact, he suggests, deeply and scarily restrictive in nature.And now it seems, having run riot through universities and public debating spaces, where all sorts of conversations have been deemed to be “inappropriate” or “no platform”, hyper-liberalism has also come home to roost in the midst of one of our oldest and most established forms of media.
What gives? Can no-one express an opinion any more without being berated as a monster who has no understanding of or care for those writers and professionals who might not have shared a position within the so-called “mainstream”? When did it become the case that we all became so “offended” at being offended? Is it really such a big deal to talk about one’s belief in excellence and doing something really, really well, over the banalities of following some directive or other so you look good on the news?
Hyper-liberalism is insidious, suggests Gray, promoting consensual agreement and a kind of creepily fake liberal group-think over independent intellectual enquiry and aesthetic excellence.
While seeming to be all about decency and fairness and wanting everyone to have an equal shot at things, it is, in fact, he suggests, deeply and scarily restrictive in nature.And now it seems, having run riot through universities and public debating spaces, where all sorts of conversations have been deemed to be “inappropriate” or “no platform”, hyper-liberalism has also come home to roost in the midst of one of our oldest and most established forms of media.
What gives? Can no-one express an opinion any more without being berated as a monster who has no understanding of or care for those writers and professionals who might not have shared a position within the so-called “mainstream”? When did it become the case that we all became so “offended” at being offended? Is it really such a big deal to talk about one’s belief in excellence and doing something really, really well, over the banalities of following some directive or other so you look good on the news?
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