Dr Jordan Peterson discusses how to win the culture war, with insights from Soviet and Nazi dissidents who stood up against tyranny and compares their struggles with clampdowns on free speech today. He sits down with The Telegraph’s Steven Edginton in a wide-ranging discussion from why Britain was a miracle for the world to if he is addicted to Twitter:
On the culture wars:
“The right lacks vision. They play a rearguard game. They don’t have a compelling story to tell young people. And because they’re conscientious, conservatives are conscientious, it’s easy to hoist them on the petard of guilt. And the psychopathic narcissists of the radical left are unbelievably good at that.”
On the personal versus the political:
“I think you have to get your psychological house in order before you can be even remotely effective politically in the fundamental sense. Otherwise, you’re just a tool of ideology or your own ego.”
On Britain:
“English common law is a complete bloody miracle … what a phenomenal accomplishment. And so, yes, I think that makes Britain singular and worthy of tremendous admiration … It’s a country that’s suffering from far too much guilt at the moment.”
On Twitter:
“Twitter isn’t optional, it’s how I sample the culture. Is it a biased sample? Probably.”
On slavery:
“It was the British who decided hands down that slavery was wrong and then did something about it. And that is documented historical reality.”
On the EU and France:
“A lot of the centralising tendency that’s characteristic of the EU can be laid at the foot of the same spirit that motivated the French, the French revolutionaries … I see the French Revolution in itself as a reflection of something deeper, which is the continuing manifestation of the spirit of Cain.”
