We need new stories : the myths that subvert freedom
Nesrine Malik (Author)
"A rigorous examination of six political myths used to deflect and discredit demands for social justice. In 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump declared: "I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct." Reeling from his victory, Democrats blamed the corrosive effect of "identity politics." When banned from Twitter for inciting violence, Trump and his supporters claimed that the measure was an assault on "free speech." In We Need New Stories, Nesrine Malik explains that all of these arguments are political myths--variations on the lie that American values are under assault. Exploring how these and other common political myths function, she breaks down how they are employed to subvert calls for equality from historically disenfranchised groups. Interweaving reportage with an incendiary analysis of American history and politics, she offers a compelling account of how calls to preserve "free speech" are used against the vulnerable; how a fixation with "wokeness," "political correctness," and "cancel culture" is in fact an organized and well-funded campaign by elites; and how the fear of racial minorities and their "identity politics" obscures the biggest threat of all--white terrorism. What emerges is a radical framework for understanding the crises roiling American contemporary politics"-- Provided by publisher
Print Book, English, 2021
First American edition View all formats and editions
W. W. Norton & Company, New York, NY, 2021
Informational works
218 pages ; 22 cm
9781324007296, 132400729X
1196177000
The Myth of the Reliable Narrator
The Myth of a Political Correctness Crisis
The Myth of the Free Speech Crisis
The Myth of Harmful Identity Politics
The Myth of National Exceptionalism
The Myth of Gender Equality
Originally published in Great Britain in 2019