There are just so many arbitrary and qualified statements in this article that it makes addressing each and every one pointless. Her understanding of Peterson’s message fits too conveniently with her own politics and worldview, and hence fails to understand the dangers within his message of radical responsibility as tailored to a particular demographic (white and male). It is a message written by a Canadian who seems to know little of America’s history and be ignorant of how the left’s response to decades of the right’s use of identity politics has arrived to its current position, warts and all.

Andrew Downs

Port Dover, Canada

Caitlin Flanagan misses the crucial mark of Peterson’s lectures and positions in relation to not only Canadian culture, but to our Charter of Rights and Freedoms and structure of government and law.

By writing an article without explaining the context of Peterson’s views and opinions and their relationship to Canadian law—and parachuting it directly into an analysis of U.S. culture and politics and “the left”—she does not address what is at hand.

We, as a society—from rural towns to our biggest cities, and in the private and public sectors—are still battling and fighting for basic fundamental rights and equality for our historically most marginalized groups. Canada is only now deconstructing and reconciling with its colonial past, and dealing with its LGBTQS+ suicide rates and discrimination, as well as its continuous battle with changing national demographics and racism. This is the new reality for Canada, proving that our “left”—our center—is indeed neither afraid nor in decline.

Andrew Hawryluk

Vancouver, Canada

Caitlin Flanagan’s recent article on Jordan Peterson purports to explain why the left fears him, but fails to engage with any of the substantive and lengthy criticisms of Peterson by left-wing writers, including the substantial work of Nathan J. Robinson and Pankaj Mishra. Mishra’s piece evidently touched a nerve, as Peterson threatened to “slap [him] happily.” Instead of engaging with these critiques, Flanagan constructs a straw man of vague leftist identity politics and consequently fails to recognize that, above all else, Peterson is a charlatan who has achieved wealth and fame by telling men what they want to hear.

Jonathon Booth

Somerville, Mass.

I think Caitlin Flanagan’s analysis is completely accurate. In certain academic and intellectual circles, professors, teachers, journalists, and activists have tied themselves into logical knots in their quest for racial justice. It is an admirable goal, but it has resulted in race and religion dictating the terms of debate rather than simply informing them. In the process, virtuosity has been replaced by absurdity.

Jason Pickart

Middleton, Wis.

Identity politics is a blight, but giving Peterson the helm of poster child of the opposition movement does not ring true to me. Your article claims that his work is grounded in common sense, but I think he provides an intellectual argument for some of society’s deepest fears and savage instincts. It’s not a mistake or an accident that “incels” flock to this man’s work in droves.