Summer of Our Discontent: The Age of Certainty and the Demise of Discourse

About this episode

The episode discusses the breakdown of civility in American society and the impact of racial identitarianism on individual agency and public discourse.

The Summer of Our Discontent  confronts the breakdown of civility in American society. Civil discourse has given way to identitarianism, altering our media, education, policing, and the ambient language and culture we use to make sense of our lives. In his book,   Thomas Chatterton Williams chronicles the transformation of social justice activism following the summer of 2020. He explores how a culture of racial identitarianism undermines individual agency and empowerment. Join Williams for a discussion with Cato research fellow Erec Smith about the existential crisis facing American liberalism, and how we might move beyond the current impasse toward a more integrated and resilient public square. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Cato Institute

Guest: Thomas Chatterton Williams

Topics covered

• civility
• identitarianism
• social justice
• American liberalism
• public discourse

Keywords

• civility
• identitarianism
• social justice
• American liberalism
• public square
• Erec Smith
• Thomas Chatterton Williams

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Summer of Our Discontent

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