The Tyranny of Opinion: Conformity and the Future of Liberalism (Think Now)

We live in an age of ideology, propaganda, and tribalism. Political conformity is enforced from many sides; the insidious social control that John Stuart Mill called "the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling." Liberal or left-minded people are often more afraid of each other than of their conservative or right wing opponents. Social media and call-out-culture makes it easier to name, shame, ostracize and harass non-conformists, and destroys careers and lives.How can we oppose this, regaining freedom and our sense of ourselves as individuals?__The Tyranny of Opinion__identifies the problem, defines its character, and proposes strategies of resistance. Russell Blackford calls for an end to ideological purity policing and for recommitment to the foundational liberal values of individual liberty and spontaneity, free inquiry, diverse opinion, and honest debate. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Introduction and overview Reasons to be fearful The terrors of terminology A roadmap On complications and implications Chapter 2: Mill on liberty: Morality, paternalism, and harm Mill’s approach – a prelude The spectre of tyranny The harm principle Problems of defining harm Offensive conduct Paternalism Conformity in modern societies The harm principle and the spirit of On Liberty Chapter 3: Freedom of thought and freedom of speech Free speech: Origins Liberty of thought and discussion – Mill’s argument Wolff on knowledge and liberty Religious knowledge Artistic freedom The foundations of free speech – gathering the reasons Non-government pressures on speech Final thoughts: On terminology and substance Chapter 4: The limits to speaking our minds Horizons of tolerance The scope and strength of protection Paradox explained – defamation and privacy law Invasion of privacy Hulkster versus Gawker Incitements and dehumanization Responding to hate The dangers of proscribing speech A need for vigilance Chapter 5: Conformity and its limits Conformity, pro and con Conformity and cascades Loury on political conformity Acting strategically and going to extremes – conformity on steroids Preference falsification The dual preference model and pluralistic ignorance Against the pressure Chapter 6: Ideology, propaganda, and outrage Ideologies and the ideological ideologues who promote them Ideologies, religions, and world views Propaganda Democrats versus Republicans: Accusations and mutual incomprehension The Outrage Industry Propaganda techniques A cautionary example for liberals – the Rolling Stone case How not to be outrage warriors Chapter 7: You can’t say that! Identity politics and its victims Threats from all sides Don’t talk like that! The case of Philipp Jenninger The betrayal of Salman Rushdie Galilean personalities The Christakis affair at Yale University Betrayal at Yale Islam, again, and the smearing of Maajid Nawaz And on it goes ... Rebecca Tuvel and Bret Weinstein Purity policing YA novels Identity politics and purity policing Chapter 8: Cyberspace and its discontents Trouble in cyberspace Presence of malice Going to extremes The online moral police Ronson on public shaming Forking his repo Angela Nagle on the wars in cyberspace Cleaning house Some final words on cybermobs Chapter 9: What can you do? Reasons to be fearful – redux Church and state (and mosque) Self-policing and blanding down Tips and traps for players ‘Defend the text’ Liberalism in a time of populism So, what can we do? Chapter 10: Call-out culture, conformity, and the future of liberalism Enlightenment liberalism revisited Nagle on iconoclastic values Feeding a cycle of outrage? Nagle on New Atheism and Elevatorgate Concluding remarks References Index "We live in an age of ideology, propaganda, and tribalism. Political conformity is enforced from many sides; the insidious social control that John Stuart Mill called "the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling." Liberal or left-minded people are often more afraid of each other than of their conservative or right wing opponents. Social media and call-out-culture makes it easier to name, shame, ostracize and harass non-conformists, and destroys careers and lives. How can we oppose this, regaining freedom and our sense of ourselves as individuals? The Tyranny of Opinion identifies the problem, defines its character, and proposes strategies of resistance. Russell Blackford calls for an end to ideological purity policing and for recommitment to the foundational liberal values of individual liberty and spontaneity, free inquiry, diverse opinion, and honest debate."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Introduction And Overview -- Mill On Liberty: Morality, Paternalism, And Harm -- Freedom Of Thought And Freedom Of Speech -- The Limits To Speaking Our Minds -- Conformity And Its Limits -- Ideology, Propaganda, And Outrage -- You Can't Say That! Identity Politics And Its Victims -- Cyberspace And Its Discontents -- What Can You Do? -- Call-out Culture, Conformity, And The Future Of Liberalism. Russell Blackford. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 229-237) And Index.