Jonathan Haidt

It's not haves or have nots, it's power. And power is such that Whatever you look at in society, you will see that some people have power and privilege and they use that to oppress the opposite. And this is what intersectionality is about.

It's not haves or have nots, it's power. And power is such that Whatever you look at in society, you will see that some people have power and privilege and they use that to oppress the opposite. And this is what intersectionality is about.

It starts with a perfectly legitimate point that there are multiple dimensions of identity and to be a black woman is not just the sum of being black or being woman, there are unique indignities that hit black women that you don't notice unless you are tuned into this. intersectionality begins, you know, Kimberlé Crenshaw with a very good insight, which I think is absolutely right.

It starts with a perfectly legitimate point that there are multiple dimensions of identity and to be a black woman is not just the sum of being black or being woman, there are unique indignities that hit black women that you don't notice unless you are tuned into this. intersectionality begins, you know, Kimberlé Crenshaw with a very good insight, which I think is absolutely right.

But the way it plays out on campus, what Greg and I argued in our book, is 18 year olds coming onto campus, they're easily lured into this incredibly simplistic and exciting way of looking at the world, which is, I don't have to know anything about you. I can just look at you and I can say, oh, you're a man. Oh, you're a white man. Oh, that means that you're an oppressor.

But the way it plays out on campus, what Greg and I argued in our book, is 18 year olds coming onto campus, they're easily lured into this incredibly simplistic and exciting way of looking at the world, which is, I don't have to know anything about you. I can just look at you and I can say, oh, you're a man. Oh, you're a white man. Oh, that means that you're an oppressor.

And I can feel virtuous to the extent that I am not that. And this puts a lot of pressure, especially on white kids, to try to develop some identity as a victim, which is incredibly disempowering and just not good for their development.

And I can feel virtuous to the extent that I am not that. And this puts a lot of pressure, especially on white kids, to try to develop some identity as a victim, which is incredibly disempowering and just not good for their development.

And what we end up with is a movement that thinks in these binary terms, and this is what brings us to today, is, of course, Jews, I'm Jewish, we always thought that we were among history's victims, and certainly you can't understand the creation of the state of Israel without understanding what happened in the Holocaust.

And what we end up with is a movement that thinks in these binary terms, and this is what brings us to today, is, of course, Jews, I'm Jewish, we always thought that we were among history's victims, and certainly you can't understand the creation of the state of Israel without understanding what happened in the Holocaust.

But because of the way intersectionality played out, because whiteness is so quintessentially evil, like whiteness is the thing that is ruining everything. So everything that's not whiteness unites together to fight whiteness. Now, most Jews, as I understand it, most Jews in Israel are actually Sephardic. They're not from Europe, but in America, Jews are coded as white.

But because of the way intersectionality played out, because whiteness is so quintessentially evil, like whiteness is the thing that is ruining everything. So everything that's not whiteness unites together to fight whiteness. Now, most Jews, as I understand it, most Jews in Israel are actually Sephardic. They're not from Europe, but in America, Jews are coded as white.

And therefore, if there's a conflict between the Jews and the Palestinians, then obviously one is the oppressor, one is the oppressed. Now, obviously economically, Israel is wealthy, Israel is powerful. So it's not that there's no legitimacy to that view. Obviously there's a huge power differential in Israel versus Gaza. But the mindset that says,

And therefore, if there's a conflict between the Jews and the Palestinians, then obviously one is the oppressor, one is the oppressed. Now, obviously economically, Israel is wealthy, Israel is powerful. So it's not that there's no legitimacy to that view. Obviously there's a huge power differential in Israel versus Gaza. But the mindset that says,

Everything is about power is so narrowing, incorrect, boring, and offensive. I spent so many years trying to help the left using moral psychology so they would stop losing elections. And I finally decided they're beyond hope. The right's beyond hope too. But... You know, the left is losing Asians, it's losing black men, it's losing Hispanics in the time of Donald Trump. Why is this happening?

Everything is about power is so narrowing, incorrect, boring, and offensive. I spent so many years trying to help the left using moral psychology so they would stop losing elections. And I finally decided they're beyond hope. The right's beyond hope too. But... You know, the left is losing Asians, it's losing black men, it's losing Hispanics in the time of Donald Trump. Why is this happening?

A big piece of it seems to be this oppressor-victim mindset pushes policies that are so offensive to most people of every race that they're like, I've had it with the left. I don't like this. So sorry, that was a rant. That was more of a rant than an answer to your question, but I hope it was entertaining.

A big piece of it seems to be this oppressor-victim mindset pushes policies that are so offensive to most people of every race that they're like, I've had it with the left. I don't like this. So sorry, that was a rant. That was more of a rant than an answer to your question, but I hope it was entertaining.

Yeah, I think things are changing. So at least on, you have to look institution by institution. And so at least on campus, things got insane in 2015. I mean, it was, again, it was like the cultural revolution began in 2015. It wasn't like this in 2012. And I started a group called Heterodox Academy. If there are any professors listening to this, please join Heterodox Academy.

Yeah, I think things are changing. So at least on, you have to look institution by institution. And so at least on campus, things got insane in 2015. I mean, it was, again, it was like the cultural revolution began in 2015. It wasn't like this in 2012. And I started a group called Heterodox Academy. If there are any professors listening to this, please join Heterodox Academy.