Engaging Honestly with Critical Race Theory's Irrationality

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss critical race theory — a theory that claims to address racial injustice in the United States but does so through a collectivist, anti-Enlightenment framework. The episode includes background on critical race theory’s rise to prominence and advice about how we can engage objectively with its ideas.

Among the topics covered:

Why it’s important to understand critical race theory;
Definitions of critical race theory by its proponents and critics;
The rise of critical race theory after the 1964 Civil Rights Act as a collectivist way of confronting less obvious forms of racism;
The claim that racism is omnipresent and embedded in American society;
The collectivist idea that only members of certain groups can understand racism;
The view that progress toward racial justice only occurs when it aligns with the interests of white people;
The egalitarianism behind the claim that any case of racial inequality is evidence of racism;
How more individualistic thinkers enabled critical race theory by failing to adequately discuss racism;
Proposals by Republican politicians to ban critical race theory in public schools.

Mentioned in this podcast are the New Ideal Live episode “Ayn Rand’s Unique Understanding of Racism,” the upcoming Ayn Rand University class The Road to Critical Race Theory and Tal Tsfany’s talk “Building the Ayn Rand University.”

The podcast was recorded on July 20, 2022. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here.