Over the last several years, organizations and institutions throughout the West—both public and private—have adopted comprehensive diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and mandated new forms of employee and student training on antiracism, unconscious bias, gender diversity, cultural sensitivity, and related topics. The stated goals of these programs are often reasonable if not noble—to create a more welcoming space and inclusive environment for all. But such training, when based on the activist ideology known as Critical Social Justice, crosses an illiberal line when participants are required to affirm beliefs they do not hold. Indeed, the mildest questions about or objections to common teachings in these sessions—that all white people are racists, that all underrepresented minorities are oppressed or useful tools of the majority, that sex and gender differences have no biological basis—are regularly met with pat commands: "Educate yourself," "Do the work," "Listen and learn." At work, raises, promotions, and even future employment may well depend on one's nodding approval during such training. At school, grades, nominations, and awards may be contingent upon one's active agreement with these ideological beliefs. When faced with such a predicament—between silent submission and risky if ethical opposition—what is a person to do? The Counterweight Handbook provides individuals with a practical and easily navigable guide to understanding and addressing the issues that are likely to arise when this activist ideology is implemented in their organization or institution. It also teaches them what to do when they are asked to affirm their commitment to beliefs they simply do not hold, undergo training in an ideology they cannot support, or submit themselves to antiscientific testing and retraining of their "unconscious" minds. It is for everyone who wishes to push back against the hostile work and educational environments such training inevitably creates—or who fears being fired, censored, or cancelled for their sincere beliefs and principled convictions.

BOOK OF THE YEAR in The Times, the Sunday Times and the Financial Times Have you heard that language is violence and that science is sexist? Or been told that being obese is healthy, that there is no such thing as biological sex, or that only white people can be racist? Are you confused by these ideas, and do you wonder how they have managed so quickly to challenge the very logic of Western society? Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay document the evolution of the dogma behind these ideas, from its origins in French postmodernism to its refinement within activist academic fields. Today this dogma is recognisable as much by its effects, such as cancel culture and social-media pile-ons, as by its assertions, which are all too often taken as read: knowledge is a social construct; science and reason are tools of oppression; all human interactions are sites of oppressive power play; and language is dangerous. As they warn, the unchecked proliferation of these beliefs present a threat to liberal democracy. While acknowledging the need to challenge the complacency of those who think a just society has been fully achieved, Pluckrose and Lindsay break down how often-radical activist scholarship does far more harm than good, not least to those marginalised communities it claims to champion.

Over the last several years, organisations and institutions throughout the West – both public and private – have adopted comprehensive diversity and inclusion policies and new forms of employee and student training on antiracism, unconscious bias, gender diversity, cultural sensitivity and other related topics. The stated goals of these programs are often reasonable if not noble – to create a more welcoming space and inclusive environment for all. But such training, when based on the activist ideology known as Critical Social Justice, crosses a clear line when participants are required to affirm beliefs they do not hold. The mildest questions about or objections to common teachings in the sessions – that all white people are racists, that all underrepresented minorities are oppressed or useful tools of the majority, that sex and gender differences have no biological basis – are regularly met with pat commands: ‘Educate yourself,’ ‘Do the work,’ ‘Listen and learn.’ At work, raises, promotions and even future employment may well depend on nodding approval during such training. At school, grades, nominations and awards may be contingent upon active agreement with these ideological beliefs. When faced with such a predicament – between silent submission and risky if ethical opposition – what is a person to do? The Counterweight Handbook provides individuals with a practical and easily navigable guide to understanding and addressing the issues that are likely to arise when this activist ideology is implemented in their organisation or institution. It also teaches them what to do when they are being expected to affirm their commitment to beliefs they simply do not hold, undergo training in an illiberal ideology they cannot support, or submit themselves to antiscientific testing and retraining of their ‘unconscious’ minds. It is for everyone who wishes to push back against the hostile work and educational environments such training inevitably creates – or who fears being fired, censored or cancelled for their deeply held beliefs and principled convictions.

Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller! Times, Sunday Times, and Financial Times Book-of-the-Year Selection! Have you heard that language is violence and that science is sexist? Have you read that certain people shouldn't practice yoga or cook Chinese food? Or been told that being obese is healthy, that there is no such thing as biological sex, or that only white people can be racist? Are you confused by these ideas, and do you wonder how they have managed so quickly to challenge the very logic of Western society? In this probing and intrepid volume, Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay document the evolution of the dogma that informs these ideas, from its coarse origins in French postmodernism to its refinement within activist academic fields. Today this dogma is recognizable as much by its effects, such as cancel culture and social-media dogpiles, as by its tenets, which are all too often embraced as axiomatic in mainstream media: knowledge is a social construct; science and reason are tools of oppression; all human interactions are sites of oppressive power play; and language is dangerous. As Pluckrose and Lindsay warn, the unchecked proliferation of these anti-Enlightenment beliefs present a threat not only to liberal democracy but also to modernity itself. While acknowledging the need to challenge the complacency of those who think a just society has been fully achieved, Pluckrose and Lindsay break down how this often-radical activist scholarship does far more harm than good, not least to those marginalized communities it claims to champion. They also detail its alarmingly inconsistent and illiberal ethics. Only through a proper understanding of the evolution of these ideas, they conclude, can those who value science, reason, and consistently liberal ethics successfully challenge this harmful and authoritarian orthodoxy—in the academy, in culture, and beyond.