The Language of Privilege

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

There are certain kinds of unknown status advantages that atwhite men have enjoyed in certain societies. This is, i think, one of the deep problems of the language of privilege. We need to make sure everybody has the same opportunities and chances to axcesspositions of advantage as each other. But there is something sort of perverse in many contexts where, for example, a video of a police interaction with a white person who is inebriated or acting aggressively was shared on social media.

Irshad Manji has a lot of experience in trying to persuade those who really don’t want to be persuaded.

Early in her career, Irshad wrote two influential books that advocated for a reformed Islam. In conversations with religious conservatives around the world, she found that a combative style did not help her win adherents for her cause; instead, she started to acknowledge their views—before proudly arguing for her own. Now, Irshad runs the Moral Courage project, a pedagogical approach that hopes to make progress on contested issues like racism without shaming its participants.

On the latest episode of The Good Fight, Yascha Mounk talks to Irshad about why we should not judge those who disagree with us; how we can hope to persuade them of our own positions; and why we should be more optimistic about America’s future than is now fashionable.

Please do listen and spread the word about The Good Fight.

If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone.

Email: goodfightpod@gmail.com

Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk

Website: http://www.persuasion.community

Podcast production by John T. Williams and Rebecca Rashid

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices