The intolerance of the Cultural Left
A dangerous culture of intolerance and social censorship is creeping into British society.
To date, I’ve lost at least eight friends over politics. This might be surprising to some people who know me as a friendly, polite, and moderate person. However, in the insane world of 2020s Britain, there are certain political views, probably held by most people, that are seen as being beyond the pale.
I am not talking about far-right racist views such as the idea that white people are somehow better than other races. I am not talking about chauvinistic views such as that women should be confined to the home or denied the vote.
What I am talking about is some of the views that are just slightly beyond the pale. Things that many people might think in their heads but would never say in public for fear of being misunderstood or demonised. I’m talking about views such as that antisemitism, terrorism and Islamist extremism are serious concerns that need to be confronted and dealt with. I’m talking about the idea that mass immigration and multiculturalism have had some negative consequences. I’m talking about the idea that feminism has gone too far and that LGBTQ shouldn’t be wholeheartedly accepted by society.
For expressing even mild criticism of the woke orthodoxies of multiculturalism, feminism, and LGBTQ, someone will be labelled racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, and transphobic. As I have been called in the past by people I believed to be among my closest friends.
Even criticism of specific environmentalist policies such as ULEZ has been demonised as “far right” by Labour MPs such as Sadiq Khan.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting also provided a perfect example of Cultural Left bigotry when on 1st May he posted a tweet saying, “A win for Susan Hall and the Conservatives is a win for racists, white supremacists and Islamophobes the world over.”
Even voting for Susan Hall and the Conservatives can now get you called a racist, white supremacist, and Islamophobe. No doubt, such divisive rhetoric was aimed at rallying Labour’s voter base, a large section of which believes that the Conservatives are beyond the pale of acceptable opinion.
David Lammy, Shadow Foreign Secretary, went even further with his demonising rhetoric when in 2019 he compared a group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs to Nazis and proponents of South African apartheid.
Essentially, there is a culturally dominant group of extremists in the Labour Party and in society promoting the message that Conservatives are evil and should not be listened to. This is not just an attempt to demonise Conservatives, but an attempt dehumanise them. Who would feel sympathetic to Nazis after all? Who would want to be friends with one?
In his essay On Liberty, liberal philosopher and MP John Stuart Mill argued that non-legal censorship does as much if not more harm to the underlying values of freedom of speech and thought as legal regulation. By stifling freedom of speech, social censorship restricts freedom of thought, limiting people’s contact with different beliefs and cementing an orthodox set of politically correct ideas in society that cannot be challenged. Over time this leads to unexamined truth lapsing into dead dogma. It also results in less diverse and interesting discussions of important issues, which harms society as well as individuals, whose ability to think critically is diminished severely.
Yet unfortunately today there are a large number of mostly young adults who do not want to be challenged or think critically. Instead, they want a ready-made set of high-status opinions and beliefs that make them feel nice and progressive.
It could be argued that political correctness is a tactical mistake by the Left because it targets many people who would otherwise be sympathetic to left-wing economic ideas such as workers’ rights, collective ownership, and industrial policy. Shooting your supporters is never a good idea. By excluding moderates and patriotic cultural conservatives from a possible Left coalition, the Cultural Left is pushing these voters into the arms of the Right. The Left also fails to see how such censorship could be used against itself in the future by vindictive conservatives. While culturally dominant now, the Left may not always enjoy the power and influence it has now. And I’m sure they will not enjoy it when the boot is on the other foot. As the revolutionary Thomas Paine said, “He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression.”
Yet, another danger of censorship is that it can lead to one group seizing control of the narrative and laying down the dogma. This is what is happening today with the Cultural Left who have established a set of politically correct ideas that cannot be challenged. Instead of winning people over with persuasion and reason, the Left has resorted to fear. Fear of being called racist or sexist, or transphobic, or any other ridiculous smear. By slandering their opponents as Nazis and white supremacists, the Left is attempting to delegitimise conservative ideas. No doubt this will open the door to further legal censorship in the future.
Offensive and hateful speech is already illegal in the UK. Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it illegal to intentionally “cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another” with online posts. According to figures obtained by The Times, nine people a day are being arrested for posting allegedly offensive messages online. How long before allegedly offensive Tories and Tory politicians are being arrested for causing annoyance or anxiety?
Democracy, community, and solidarity cannot exist without freedom of speech. Censorship breeds mistrust between individuals, fracturing society. It also undermines the political pluralism required for a healthy democracy.
Rather than carry on living in fear of offending woke dogma, it’s time to be brave and stand up for what is right. Robust criticism of all ideas is required for a free and diverse society to flourish.
Very good article on freedom of speech.