US, 153 intellectuals sign letter against moralism and ideological closures

One of the worst outcomes of the protests that arose at the end of May in the wake of the demands of the Black Lives Matter movement is thehardening of the debate that has characterized both sides, with extremist positions on both the right and the left: this has led to a very heavy climate even within the ranks of progressives, and there are many who denounce the fact that it has become increasingly difficult to carry on a healthy debate and express disagreement without the risk of being singled out or even ostracized. For this reason, in the United States, 153 intellectuals (journalists, writers, academics, artists) have written a letter, published last July 7 in Harper’s Magazine (in the online version: it will come out in October in the print version), in which they take a stand against rampant moralism, against so-called cancel culture (i.e., that way of thinking that leads those who express controversial positions to be the object of heavy attacks) and against certain ideological closures that are harming discussion.

The letter contains excellent signatures, some of them world-renowned: for example, philosopher Noam Chomsky and writers Salman Rushdie, J.K. Rowling and Margaret Atwood. They all denounce the fact that writers, directors, actors, journalists, musicians, and, in general, cultural or entertainment figures, should conform to what is perceived as dominant thinking, otherwise they would run the risk of being boycotted or fired. Obviously, the letter is causing a lot of discussion-even among the signatories themselves, with some resenting Rowling’s presence because of her controversial stance on transgender people. There are, for example, those who criticize her by branding her as an expression of a privileged position, and those who consider her excessive on the grounds that racist or sexist attitudes are instead still well entrenched in American society, and the alleged attacks on freedom of expression serabbero instead merely the physique of an educated elite that senses excesses of progressive sensibilities that, according to others, simply do not exist. And there are those who argue that cancel culture is still a minor issue compared to those underlying the claims of the Black Lives Matter movement or those who protest.

Below, we publish the full text of the letter.

"Our cultural institutions are facing a trying time. Strong protests for racial and social justice are leading to long-overdue demands for police reform, along with calls for more equity and inclusion in our society, in higher education, in journalism, in philanthropy, in the arts. But this necessary reckoning has also intensified a new set of moral attitudes and political commitments that tend to weaken our rules of public debate and tolerance of differences in favor of ideological conformity. We applaud the first point, but raise our voices against the second. Illiberal forces are gaining strength everywhere in the world and have a powerful ally in Donald Trump, who poses a real threat to democracy. But the resistance must not stiffen in turn within the framework of dogma or coercion, which right-wing demagogues are already exploiting to their advantage. The democratic inclusion we want can only be achieved if we make our voices heard against the climate of intolerance that has been established on every front.

The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a free society, is being crushed more and more every day. And if we can expect it from the radical right, the trend of censorship is spreading in our culture as well: intolerance of opposing views, the fashion of ostracism and pointing to public ridicule, the tendency to dissolve complex political issues into blind moral certainty. We advocate the value of robust and even caustic counter-discussion coming from all sides. But now still too many are calling for swift and severe punishments for any alleged abuse of freedom of speech or thought. Even worse, there are leaders of institutions who, moved by a spirit of danger management dictated by panic, are acting with reckless or disproportionate punishments instead of thoughtful reforms. There are newspaper editors being fired for writing controversial articles, there are books being withdrawn for alleged lack of sincerity, there are journalists being prevented from writing on certain topics, there are professors being investigated for citing literary works in class, a researcher has been fired for circulating peer-reviewed academic studies, there are leaders of organizations being removed from their posts for what are sometimes just mistakes due to clumsiness. Whatever the arguments around a particular case, the result has been to narrowly limit the boundaries of what can be said without threat of reprisal. We are already paying a price in terms of greater risk aversion on the part of writers, artists and journalists, who fear for their livelihoods if they stray from what is permissible, or even lack sufficient zeal in showing agreement.

This stifling atmosphere will eventually harm the most vital causes of our time. Restriction of debate, whether due to a repressive government or an intolerant society, still harms all those without power and causes everyone to lose in capacity for democratic participation. The way to defeat bad ideas is exposure, argumentation, and persuasion, not an attempt to silence them or a desire to push them away. We reject any false choice between justice and freedom, according to which one cannot exist without the other. As writers we need a culture that allows us room to experiment, to take risks, and even to make mistakes. We need to preserve the ability to express disagreement in good faith without there being tragic professional consequences. If we do not defend the one principle on which our work depends, we cannot expect the public or the state to defend it for us."

Ph. Credit Pete Forsyth

US, 153 intellectuals sign letter against moralism and ideological closures

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