Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
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 (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.
Latest from New Discourses Press! The Queering of the American Child: queeringbook.com
Support New Discourses: newdiscourses.com/support
Follow New Discourses on other platforms: newdiscourses.com/subscribe
Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames
© 2025 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #MotteandBailey
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 (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.
Latest from New Discourses Press! The Queering of the American Child: queeringbook.com
Support New Discourses: newdiscourses.com/support
Follow New Discourses on other platforms: newdiscourses.com/subscribe
Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames
© 2025 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #MotteandBailey
