Culture | Ill liberals

How to cancel “cancel culture”

Two new books examine the brokenness of wokeness

The phrase "Cancel Culture" being obscured by buttons that read "cancel"
Image: Ryan Carl

Yascha Mounk’s book contains several jolting stories, which encapsulate the extreme thinking of some on the American left. When covid-19 vaccines became available, most countries dispensed them first to health workers and the elderly (who are much more vulnerable to the disease than young people). Yet America’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention urged states to offer priority to 87m “essential workers”, which included package-delivery drivers and film crews. Its rationale was “racial equity”, because old people were more likely to be white, even though such a policy would probably cause thousands more deaths.

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Ill liberals”

From the October 21st 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Culture

Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown

Performing in a cinema near you: Bob Dylan and Maria Callas

Behind the boom in musical biopics

Magnus Carlsen of Norway in action at a Freestyle Chess tournament in Germany

Can Magnus Carlsen convince people to watch chess?

The world’s best player hopes that glamming up the ancient game can make stars of its players


A model poses for photographers among wildflowers in bloom at Lake Elsinore, California

Are internet firms the problem, or are you the problem?

A veteran critic of technology offers his take on a familiar target


The Michelin Guide is no longer the only tastemaker in town

How is it adapting to changing eating habits?

Tofu: never judge a food by its political reputation

Think outside the white plastic box. Here is a carnivore’s guide to tofu