The left versus the Internet

Instead, now it is the Left that is ossifying. When confronted by social science and investigative journalism that eviscerates the hysteria over “rape culture,” the Left retreats into dogmatism. As IQ denialism increasingly looks, to paraphrase the liberal social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, as credible in social science as young earth creationism is in biology, left-wing sociologists cry “racism” and let slip the dogs of war. Rather than debate critics of their increasing turn toward melodramatic paranoia honestly in open court, now dissent is dealt with via Argumentum Ad Title IX. Indeed, any criticism of a left-wing cause, no matter how silly, is often simply met with shrill assertion that one is “on the wrong side of history.”

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However, on the Internet, it is still true that nothing is sacred. In 2008, that was primarily a cudgel against social conservatism. Today, that same cudgel is being turned on social justice. If God is dead on the Internet, then “history” is next on the chopping block. Where anti-sin crusaders were once mocked for criticizing porn, video games, and comic books, now anti-sexism crusaders get the same treatment for doing the same thing. “Fundies” were the Internet’s favorite targets for trolling once upon a time; now it’s the “victim” class.

Will the wheel turn again? Certainly, for there will always be new icons to besiege. But if the “disruptive” ethos that thrives on the Internet shows us anything, it is that where old idols fall, better ones can take their place. Creative destruction is in full scale on every iPhone, computer, and tablet in America. And if I had to bet on who would favor creative destruction over the long run, I know one thing: I wouldn’t choose the Left.

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