The debate over transgender issues (e.g. about proposed changes that would allow a change of legal sex on the basis of "self-ID") provides a good case-study of low liberalism in action.
By no means all trans-rights activists (TRAs) are low liberals. Some TRAs deploy a sophisticated understanding of international human rights law. Others have an intellectual background in gender studies/queer theory (the work of Judith Butler is very influential here).
But some TRAs are low liberals, as is seen by: (a) attempts to shift the Overton window so that opposition to the legal changes they favour is seen as politically unacceptable; (b) recurrent labelling of political opponents as "right" or "far right"(when in fact many of those opposed to self-ID, e.g. those associated with Womens' Place UK, have a long history on the left); (c) a willingness to resort to violence or intimidation to prevent their opponents from meeting ("no TERFS on our turf"); (d) using blocking software on social media (and encouraging others to do so) in order to reduce the reach of gender-critical voices; and (e) generally, deploying a very extended concept of "transphobia" in order to delegitimise opposition to their political agenda.
Agree that many low liberals support this cause, using poor logic and non-liberal reasoning. Then again, some of the behaviours you list reflect radical ideologies such as anarchism and communism and certain activists explicitly endorse these ideologies. This is another problem with low liberalism; it combines fashionable ideas from progressive/left-wing ideologies, including extreme ones, with little internal consistency.
Congratulations on acing it at work and on here. For a post-partisan person like me this stack is a godsend.
Thanks Mike! Hope you're well :-)
Would you be interested in doing a cross-recommendation? (My readers number over 700 now; quite a bit less than you but still in the same ball park).
Happy New Year to you anyway.
That would be great - I've just recommended you! Happy New Year!
Thanks...I've done likewise.
The debate over transgender issues (e.g. about proposed changes that would allow a change of legal sex on the basis of "self-ID") provides a good case-study of low liberalism in action.
By no means all trans-rights activists (TRAs) are low liberals. Some TRAs deploy a sophisticated understanding of international human rights law. Others have an intellectual background in gender studies/queer theory (the work of Judith Butler is very influential here).
But some TRAs are low liberals, as is seen by: (a) attempts to shift the Overton window so that opposition to the legal changes they favour is seen as politically unacceptable; (b) recurrent labelling of political opponents as "right" or "far right"(when in fact many of those opposed to self-ID, e.g. those associated with Womens' Place UK, have a long history on the left); (c) a willingness to resort to violence or intimidation to prevent their opponents from meeting ("no TERFS on our turf"); (d) using blocking software on social media (and encouraging others to do so) in order to reduce the reach of gender-critical voices; and (e) generally, deploying a very extended concept of "transphobia" in order to delegitimise opposition to their political agenda.
Agree that many low liberals support this cause, using poor logic and non-liberal reasoning. Then again, some of the behaviours you list reflect radical ideologies such as anarchism and communism and certain activists explicitly endorse these ideologies. This is another problem with low liberalism; it combines fashionable ideas from progressive/left-wing ideologies, including extreme ones, with little internal consistency.
Congratulations Tom! Glad it's going well