Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia: A Response to Steven Pinker

“A fountain pen on a spiral notebook” by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

“You don’t stick a knife in a man’s back nine inches and then pull it out six inches and say you’re making progress.” Malcom X

Those words have been ringing in my head ever since I read Steven Pinker’s book, Enlightenment Now: The case for reason, science, humanism, and progress. In this book he argues that society has made great progress when it comes to equality. He notes that “… even in the most regressive political movement in recent American history there were no calls for reinstating Jim Crow laws, ending women’s suffrage, or recriminalizing homosexuality.” These ideas, as he puts it, have “fallen by the wayside.” It is true that, on balance, our society has made significant progress against institutional racism, sexism, and homophobia. That said, our society is a far cry from eradicating these destructive views. According to Steven Pinker, I have this view in common with Progressives.

“An axiom of progressive opinion, especially in universities, is that we continue to live in a deeply racist, sexist, and homophobic society — which would imply that progressivism is a waste of time, having accomplished nothing after decades of struggle.” (Pinker, Enlightenment Now)

I can hardly believe someone as brilliant as Pinker could make such a statement. The observation that we live in a deeply…