The Iterated Motte and Bailey Strategy

New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 133

Over the last few years, much has been said about the "motte and bailey" rhetorical strategy, which is a dishonest way in which postmodernist, Woke, and other manipulative people argue. First described by Nicholas Shackel in a 2005 paper, "On the Vacuity of Postmodern Methodology," it has become a standard explanation for the Woke era in the last few years. In Counter Wokecraft (https://www.amazon.com/Counter-Wokecraft-Manual-Combatting-University/dp/B09LH2L3B6/ref=sr_1_1), James Lindsay and Charles Pincourt outline both offensive and defensive uses of this crooked strategy, which is a kind of "strategic equivocation" used to steal power. In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay explains how the "motte and bailey" strategy can be iterated through a series of players to give legitimacy to truly radical ideas and programs while the actors involved keep their own hands mostly clean. Join him to understand an important dynamic.

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