Since then, the IDW has been subject to both unstinting praise from fans, as well as relentless critiques by opponents ( including myself ). It included religious conservatives such as Ben Shapiro, academics like Jordan Peterson, members of the New Atheist movement such as Sam Harris, and libertarians like Christina Hoff Sommers. The Intellectual Dark Web (IDW) was described as a collection of intellectuals and academics who varied ideologically but were united in their disdain for progressive identity politics and political correctness (PC) culture. In 2018, the world was introduced to the “Intellectual Dark Web” in the pages of The New York Times. He acknowledges that much of the Canadian psychologist’s self-help is quite useful, and he even jokingly admits that many leftists could do with some tough love about cleaning their room.” He firmly opposes performative “ultra-wokeness” and support individual rights.“ Peterson comes across no better in Brooks’ telling.

From there, he takes the left to task for failing to adequately respond to the IDW’s arguments. The only alternative to both those options, Brooks asserts, is a rejuvenated, internationalist, cosmopolitan left. As describes a crossroads that represented with Hungary, which is ruled by openly racist right wing reactionary parties, and Singapore, which is a neo-liberal technocracy where all races and creeds are respected so long as you know your place and don’t try and rock the boat. This seemed a little harsh to me, but what I really appreciated was his next point. “Crucially, in all of these areas, the IDW promotes narratives that either naturalize or mythologized historically contingent power relations-between workers and bosses, between men and women, they are old school reactionaries.” The reason Brooks classifies the IDW largely on the right is because they defend the “capitalist economic order”, American imperial hegemony, and are all generally united in their opposition to the left.

While Weiss claims that the IDW’s ideas wouldn’t have been considered controversial a decade ago, he points out that the film PCU was about exactly that and was made in the 90s. Brooks makes the point that the concerns of the IDW are actually a rehash of the same culture war concerns that have been present in American politics for decades. In chapter 1, titled Meet the New Right: the Intellectual Dark Web and Capital’s Contradictions, he starts from the beginning, Bari Weiss’ article introducing the IDW. It’s a critique of the IDW, especially Sam Harris, Jordan Peterson, and Ben Shapiro. I’ve been read Against the Web: A Cosmopolitan Answer to the New Right by Michael Brooks.

Against the Web by Michael Brooks