You likely last read about James Lindsay in this space when I praised his fantastic essay on “Postmodern Religion and the Faith of Social Justice.” I cannot recommend it strongly enough. Between Lindsay’s essay, and Yuri Slezkine’s work explaining how Bolshevism was an apocalyptic millenarian cult, I came to understand the profound connection between totalitarian communism and the ideology of “social justice.”

Back in 2018, he and his colleagues Peter Boghossian and Helen Pluckrose carried out the famous Grievance Studies hoax, for which they deserve medals. They do not mess around with this garbage.

Lindsay just put up a truly great Twitter thread explaining how social justice works. I’m going to quote the whole thing here, and exhort you to follow him on Twitter. The man is brave as hell, and sees right through this sham:

An analogy to help you understand how contemporary Social Justice Theory’s critical methods work. If you’ve ever made a mistake like this: 2+3=6, where you accidentally multiplied instead of adding, or could imagine doing so, you’ll understand this one. — James Lindsay, pompous shit (@ConceptualJames) January 30, 2020

And, by the bye, if, in the “end,” you arrange just to pay what you owe, plus any fines, you’ll be allowed to do so and then told that you only did so to position yourself as a good, law-abiding taxpayer and to cover for your broader criminality, which still must be investigated. — James Lindsay, pompous shit (@ConceptualJames) January 30, 2020

Follow James Lindsay here.

Do I really need to say it? This is exactly how communism worked. The redefinition of language. The guilt by group membership. The insistence that you have done something wrong, and you will be interrogated without mercy until you admit your guilt. All of it. We are creating that here.

I sent the first draft of my forthcoming book about all this to a close writer friend, seeking her feedback. After the first chapter, she wrote me these encouraging words: “Rod, this is a very important book. It is even more on-target than The Benedict Option. It nails it. It brings into focus something all of us were sensing but couldn’t put words to.”

Well, I hope the book is as significant as she says, and that it can help spark a real resistance movement. If it turns out to be a hit, please know that James Lindsay was an inspiration for me. He’s a fairly militant atheist who may not be entirely pleased that a conservative Christian admires his courage and his work, but it’s true.

UPDATE: Reader JoeMerl tells me something I didn’t know: