It All Started with a Historical Accident

hypotheses include an assumption that there are fundamental differences between male brains and female brains, something that critical theory-influenced radical feminists are unlikely to accept. Many of these hypotheses also point to trans people being essentially intersex, at least on the neurological level, if not on a whole-body level, something that conservative cultural warriors may not want to consider. Nevertheless, we should not let political considerations get in the way of good science. The generation and exploration of scientific hypotheses should never be limited by the preferences of political factions. We should protect the freedom of scientific research from being limited by those with a political agenda, left-wing and rightwing alike.

It All Started with a Historical Accident

To start reversing the social problems created by critical theory and postmodernism, we first have to understand that the rise of these ideas was a historical accident, and that their continued spread is therefore contingent on particular conditions. In particular, it should be understood that support for these extremist ideas is very dependent on context, and even generations who were once curious about these ideas could turn away from them when conditions change.

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A Generational History of Political Trends, From 1968 to 2008

Once upon a time, critical theory and postmodernism were very marginal. Back in the 1960s, everyone from French Communists to American Democrats and Republicans agreed that the ideas of Herbert Marcuse were a bad influence on the youth. No matter their nationality or their political affiliation, mature, responsible adults of that era instinctively knew that such destructive ideas could not be good for humanity.

As previously mentioned in Chapter 3, the break that allowed critical theory thinking to spread into the mainstream came during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was perhaps the most costly mistake in recent Western history, not only because of the huge economic costs and the many human lives lost during the war, but also because of the deleterious impact on Western culture for generations to come. During the Vietnam War, millions of young men found themselves at risk of being sent to fight, and potentially die, in a foreign country, in a war that had nothing to do with their own country's safety. This created an existential crisis in many young intellectuals, many of whom became disillusioned with the traditional cultural institutions they grew up with. Moreover, with the bipartisan support for the war in America and many other countries, the students could only turn to fringe political elements to gain support for their anti-war campaign. All this, combined with the immaturity of the

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student activists (most were under 25, thrust into political activism by the war before they were mature enough to understand many things), meant that there was now a big population of young people who were receptive to fringe and extreme ideas. College campuses across the Western world suddenly became centers for the dissemination of critical theory thinking.

After the Vietnam War came to an end, with the threat of conscription no longer present, college campuses largely reverted to their previous state, and political radicalism died down. Most Generation X students (born around 1964-1979) were largely unaffected by political radicalism and critical theory thinking. In fact, many Americans Gen Xers voted for Reagan when they were young, and a plurality of American Gen Xers are still Republicans to this day. Political radicalism was not to return to college campuses until after 2010, and its influence would effectively skip three decades of college students before then.

Most baby boomers also went on with their lives. They got jobs, got married and started families, and many of those who had previously been radical students gradually realized the impracticality and even the danger inherent in the views of their youth. Perhaps because of the stability of the 1980s and 90s, or maybe because they subconsciously knew that a stable and healthy society was better for raising children, in middle age, most baby boomers became very family and community orientated. They effectively passed this attitude

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