Not to excessively shill my own books here, but I’ve been meaning to post two of these rather substantial reviews for a few days, so when a third happened to appear, I thought I’d better just post them all at the same time. First, a review of Cuckservative, which is characterized as “something of a primer on the main positions of the Alt-Right”:
The Alt-Right is a recent movement in western politics. The rise of the Social Justice Phenomenon and their takeover of the mainstream left, and the inability or refusal of the current political elite to address let alone being to deal with a febrile global situation has led to a resurgence of ideas that had for decades been lingering at the fringes.
Lingering not because they were defeated, empirically wrong or quite quite mad, but because they challenge a set of assumptions without which the current political consensus cannot operate.
The media’s monopoly on the dissemination of information and their complicity in maintaining a crumbling narrative has been smashed by the cunning and sophisticated use of the internet by alt-right writers. These writers are actually performing the function of the fourth estate and the present American election may be the first where a candidate’s campaign has been undermined by “citizen journalists”. It is a movement whose time has come, and which has the tools to change, possibly even save, a beleaguered Western culture.
This book was recommended to me by one of the authors after I asked for clarification of his position on Free Trade, and can be seen perhaps as something of a primer on the main positions of the Alt-Right.
The book is not a dense academic thesis and is aimed at the general reader, with a conversational tone throughout. Technical elements are clearly presented yet not simplified into error. The philosophical and historical underpinnings of some of the arguments are also clearly, compellingly and accurately presented.
An agnostic, Jose Camoes Silva’, has some thoughts concerning The Irrational Atheist, which are generally favorable, although I must correct him on one point. I do not believe, and have never argued, that “Goodness of religion ⇒ Existence of God [of that religion]”. I believe reading my book with Dominic Santarelli, On the Existence of Gods, would suffice to disabuse him of that notion. But that is a minor point, made only in the interest of clarification.
Sam “reincarnation might be possible” Harris
I remember Sam Harris saying something along the lines of that quoted phrase at a conference. He really seems to believe a lot of mysticism and superstition. But his audiences forgive him those small trespasses, as long as he continues to attack the religious, under the guise of attacking religion.
I did read one of Harris’s books; it made me want to relapse into the Catholic faith of my upbringing. (I didn’t.) That’s how biased, poorly thought-out, poorly researched, supercilious, and absurd it was. I thought that was the worst possible case for atheism one could make.
Then I watched Harris in a conference and realized that a worse case was possible. If I had any doubts regarding my agnosticism, I would have become a young-Earth creationist speaking in tongues and handling snakes right then and there.
If anything, VD’s takedown of Harris is too kind.
Paraphrasing an earlier essayist, Harris’s books aren’t to be tossed aside lightly; they should be thrown with great force.
And finally, it was a distinct pleasure to learn that Robert Wenzel of the San Francisco Review of Books not only reviewed SJWs Always Lie, but thought rather highly of it.
The book is brilliant. Day understands the tactics used by SJWs and he understands the psyche of SJWs. What’s more, he has done heavy battle with SJWs in the science fiction arena and as an original player in #gamergate.
Day is an Alt Right leader and I don’t agree with all his views and I don’t agree with all the tactics he suggests in his book. I consider the battle against central planners, and other authoritarians, to ultimately be a long game, intellectual battle, where SJWs are mere grains of dirt in the eye.
My guess is that Day sees short-term skirmishes with SJWs as important in the long battle. I don’t. However, I do see Day’s tactics as extremely important survival techniques, so that SJW attacks don’t knock you of the box when developing your long game.
And, heaven help you, if you are in the corporate world minding your own business when SJWs launch and attack on you/
Thus, I consider this book must reading for anyone in the corporate world so that corporate-types know in advance how to react and what to do if they are the target of an SJW attack.
It is also necessary reading for anyone in the intellectual battle, academics, bloggers, etc. SJWs don’t play fair and they could do serious harm to your career if you respond incorrectly.
Finally. it is a valuable book for anyone who finds himself in debate with SJWs. Day brilliantly explains why logical debate doesn’t work with SJWs and he shows how to win in debate against them.
Anyhow, there is a little light reading available for those of you who are only familiar with my work here on the blog and are interested in diving a little deeper down the rabbit hole.