On Jordan Peterson, Postmodernism, and PoMo-Bashing

Abstract

Jordan Peterson says that postmodernists say no interpretation is better than another. Hmm. I would no sooner identify Peterson's adversaries as those who have been misled by "postmodernism" than I would identify them as misled by "sustainability," "diversity," "multiculturalism," or "intersectionality." Such fare is mainly symptomatic. "Postmodern" invocations are often like "sustainability" invocations: inessential. This piece is not a defense of postmodernism. It is a critique of PoMo-bashing.

Keywords: Social Justice, Leftism, Classical Liberalism, Deirdre McCloskey, Wayne Booth, Pragmatism, Non-Foundationalism, Adam Smith

JEL Classification: A12, A13, A19