Penn Law Prof. Amy Wax on Her Controversial ‘Return to Cultural Norms’ Editorial
8th September 2017
University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax argued in an editorial that many of the problems plaguing American society—opioid abuse, unemployment, inner-city violence—can be traced to “the breakdown of the country’s bourgeois culture.”
Wax and her co-author suggested the “re-embrace” of cultural norms such as education, marriage before children, and respect for authority by Americans would “significantly reduce society’s pathologies.”
The firestorm that followed the editorial’s publication culminated in 33 members of the Penn Law faculty publicly denouncing Wax in an open letter published in The Daily Pennsylvanian. The professors did not engage Wax’s arguments on the merits, but instead spoke of their concern for an ideal educational experience in which people “respect one another without bias or stereotype.”
In other words, she was subjected to a Two Minute Hate for ThoughtCrime by those who love Big Brother.
Not really news, but a useful reminder.