The Counterweight Handbook: Principled Strategies for Surviving and Defeating Critical Social Justice--At Work, in Schools, and Beyond

The stated goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are often reasonable, if not noble--to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all. Yet, as more and more people are discovering, DEI as commonly practiced isn’t a natural extension of past civil rights movements or an ethical framework for opposing discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, etc. Rather, it is inextricably connected with an illiberal and authoritarian ideology--Critical Social Justice--that demands adherence to its tenets and punishes any dissent from its dogma.

Even the mildest questions about Critical Social Justice claims--that all white people are racists, that all underrepresented minorities are oppressed, that sex and gender differences have no biological basis, that censorship is a necessary good--are regularly met by DEI trainers and HR officers with pat commands: ＂Educate yourself,＂ ＂Do the work,＂ ＂Listen and learn.＂ At work, raises, promotions, and future employment often depend on our nodding approval of such claims. At school, grades, nominations, and awards are often contingent upon our active agreement with these beliefs. In our daily lives, Critical Social Justice ideology poses a genuine threat not only to our fundamental rights but also to the future of our democratic systems, but if we suggest this, we risk being canceled or shunned by community members. When facing a choice between silent submission and risky if ethical opposition, what is a person to do?

While a growing number of groups concerned about the nature of Critical Social Justice have begun to attack it from the top down through legal, financial, and political means, The Counterweight Handbook takes a decidedly different and novel approach. It works from the bottom up and is written to empower individuals who wish to combat Critical Social Justice in their personal and professional lives. Based on the author’s years of experience studying, exposing, and fighting Critical Social Justice ideology and advising individuals and organizations struggling with it, The Counterweight Handbook is designed to help people address Critical Social Justice problems in the most ethical and effective way possible. It not only offers principled responses to the main claims of Critical Social Justice but also teaches individuals what to do when they are asked to affirm beliefs they do not hold, undergo training in an ideology they cannot support, or submit to antiscientific testing and retraining of their ＂unconscious＂ minds. In short, it is for all of us who believe in freedom of speech and conscience, who wish to push back against the hostile work and educational environments Critical Social Justice has created, and who want to stand up for our individual liberties and universal rights.,

Helen Pluckrose is founder of Counterweight, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization that offers advice and support to those encountering Critical Social Justice ideology in their workplace or school and that advocates for liberal concepts of social justice. A humanist who mostly just wants people to value evidence-based epistemology and consistently liberal ethics, she is also coauthor of the internationally acclaimed book Cynical Theories. She lives in London.