6 hours Ago By Liz Hobday
Philosopher AC Grayling revels in being banned from social media platform X because his latest book is all about cancel culture. "How about that? I mean, that is so ironic it's almost unbelievable," he said. "Elon Musk, the great would-be champion of free speech, has cancelled me on Twitter!" Grayling was blocked in February - he suspects over a repost - as his book Discriminations: Making Peace in the Culture Wars was about to hit bookshelves worldwide.
An author of more than 30 books, Grayling holds positions at both Northeastern University London and St Anne's College in Oxford University. He's in Australia in May, having appeared at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival with Melbourne, Sydney and Newcastle writers' festivals to come. But unlike most authors, Grayling won't be promoting these events on social media.
As well as being blocked on the Musk-owned X, he admits to having forgotten his Facebook password. What's more, he argues social media is toxic and has been harmful to democracies around the world. It's all part of his analysis of the culture wars, which he explains go back to ancient times - the word ostracism can be traced to ancient Greek - because tribalism is simply the flip side of community.
"The whole of history is about one group trying to cancel another group - that's what a war is," he said. From political correctness to wokeness, Grayling views contemporary culture wars as fundamentally about human rights and fairness, and fighting against sexism, racism and homophobia. "People who are in positions of privilege don't want other people to have a fair share because they think they will lose their hold on the levers of privilege," he said.
Australia's book festival scene has had to contend with these culture wars in recent years, with donations withdrawn from events and staff and board members quitting over issues such as the Gaza conflict. With the patience of a philosopher, Grayling sees writers' festivals as an opportunity for rational debate, but he adds it's understandable that people occasionally get riled up. He interprets Australia's federal election, which resulted in a Labor triumph, as a move away from the culture wars the nation's politicians have indulged in over the past decade.
"It's maybe a step in the right direction, towards bringing the culture wars to a more peaceful conclusion." Grayling appears at the Melbourne Writers Festival, which began on Saturday, followed by the Sydney Writers' Festival, held from May 19-27, and a special Newcastle Writers Festival event on May 20..
