Capitalism is driving the culture wars
In a world of insecurity, the masses are trying to assert dignity and choice through battles over identity politics.
ByCulture wars
Culture wars are ideological clashes surrounding cultural and social beliefs between groups, generally divided across the socially conservative and liberal line. The term derives from the German Kulturkampf (‘culture struggle’), referring to the clashes between the Catholic Church and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in the late nineteenth century. Find all our latest news, comment and analysis on culture wars here.
You Ask Us: will Labour stop the culture wars?
And does the government control what journalists report?
The real cause of generational warfare
The internet has collapsed the space between young and old and exposed previously hidden divides.
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Who is the real Oliver Dowden?
Is the Deputy Prime Minister’s anti-wokeness sincere or just an act?
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Twitter is breaking our politics
Fight a culture war too long, and you can no longer see when you’ve gone round the bend.
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The treatment of Joanna Cherry shows Scotland’s culture of liberal intolerance
The barring of the SNP politician from the Edinburgh Fringe is yet another blow to free speech and open debate.
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How Judy Blume became a lightning rod in the culture wars
The frank explorations of puberty and sexuality that made her books radical in the 1970s are newly controversial in the…
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Is the government’s grooming task force about fighting crime or a culture war?
Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman’s focus on race is curious, and at odds with the evidence on child sex abuse.
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Are social conservatives the future of British politics?
The Conservative Party is moving to the right on social issues, as is Labour.
The right have a secret: they are the true snowflakes
Culture warriors can’t help but display the behaviour they seek to criticise. Listen to them, then throw their words back…
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The furore over Oxfam’s “woke” language guide misses the point
The media attack on the charity’s “inclusive” wording forces us to choose between blustering bigotry and preening sanctimony.
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Don’t make sex education a culture war
In a world of Pornhub, sexting and abuse, kids need proper teaching not baseless scaremongering.
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We have lost Russell Brand
This once-sexy communist has become an American culture wars pundit.
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Britain’s original culture wars
A new history of the 17th century reminds us how bitter ideological conflicts have shaped our democracy.
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How Bari Weiss broke the media
The culture war at the New York Times crushed Bari Weiss – and made her.
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Bret Easton Ellis: “Wokeness is running out of room”
The Shards is the famously morbid author’s latest “trickster book”. He prefers cabinet shopping to culture wars now.
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The year woke broke: a brief history of a contested word
From Suella Braverman to Elon Musk, war has been declared on liberalism. How did one word come to mean so…
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No, JK Rowling isn’t being erased by a book-binder
But a young artist is being left to field a toxic storm of abuse.
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Beneath the culture wars, we are not nearly so binary
It is possible to both view climate change as an existential crisis and support JK Rowling’s view on trans rights.
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The war on Christmas values
Forget phoney culture wars. Jesus would have been appalled by conservative attacks on the poor and marginalised.
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