Can a woman have a penis? Is the West forever stained by racism? Are we all going to die from climate change? To the liberal establishment of London, New York or Sydney, the answer to all of these questions is ‘Yes’. And anyone who disagrees is a racist, climate-denying transphobe." Our elites have become convinced of some very strange and extreme ideas. And yet there is precious little pushback against them. Critics are cowed by the threat of shaming, cancellation, even arrest. The new orthodoxies of our age are risible, and yet the space for dissent is shrinking.  We need more heretics. Throughout history, it has been those brave enough to puncture the prevailing groupthink who have propelled society forward. But they are in shockingly short supply today. In this collection of original essays, Brendan O’Neill remakes the case for heresy – and commits a few heresies of his own along the way.

    Contents

Introduction vii 

1. Her Penis 

2. 1 2. Witch-Finding 18 

3. 3. Covid as Metaphor 36 

4. 4. Islamocensorship 54 

5. 5. Rise of the Pigs 72 

6. 6. White Shame 90 

7. 7. The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name 109 

8. 8. Viva Hate 127 

9. 9. The Pretenders 143 

10. 10. Words Wound 160 

About spiked and about the author 173