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The stated goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are often reasonable, if not noble\u2014to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all. Yet, as more and more people are discovering, DEI as commonly practiced isn\u2019t a natural extension of past civil rights movements or an ethical framework for opposing discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, etc. Rather, it is inextricably connected with an illiberal and authoritarian ideology\u2014Critical Social Justice\u2014that demands adherence to its tenets and punishes any dissent from its dogma.

Even the mildest questions about Critical Social Justice claims\u2014that all white people are racists, that all underrepresented minorities are oppressed, that sex and gender differences have no biological basis, that censorship is a necessary good\u2014are regularly met by DEI trainers and HR officers with pat commands: \u201cEducate yourself,\u201d \u201cDo the work,\u201d \u201cListen and learn.\u201d At work, raises, promotions, and future employment often depend on our nodding approval of such claims. At school, grades, nominations, and awards are often contingent upon our active agreement with these beliefs. In our daily lives, Critical Social Justice ideology poses a genuine threat not only to our fundamental rights but also to the future of our democratic systems, but if we suggest this, we risk being canceled or shunned by community members. When facing a choice between silent submission and risky if ethical opposition, what is a person to do?

While a growing number of groups concerned about the nature of Critical Social Justice have begun to attack it from the top down through legal, financial, and political means, The Counterweight Handbook takes a decidedly different and novel approach. It works from the bottom up and is written to empower individuals who wish to combat Critical Social Justice in their personal and professional lives. Based on the author\u2019s years of experience studying, exposing, and fighting Critical Social Justice ideology and advising individuals and organizations struggling with it, The Counterweight Handbook is designed to help people address Critical Social Justice problems in the most ethical and effective way possible. It not only offers principled responses to the main claims of Critical Social Justice but also teaches individuals what to do when they are asked to affirm beliefs they do not hold, undergo training in an ideology they cannot support, or submit to antiscientific testing and retraining of their \u201cunconscious\u201d minds. In short, it is for all of us who believe in freedom of speech and conscience, who wish to push back against the hostile work and educational environments Critical Social Justice has created, and who want to stand up for our individual liberties and universal rights.

Helen Pluckrose is a liberal political and cultural writer and was one of the founders of Counterweight. A participant in the Grievance Studies Affair probe that highlighted problems in Critical Social Justice scholarship, she is the coauthor of Cynical Theories and Social (In)justice. She lives in England and can be found on X @HPluckrose

Shermer and Pluckrose discuss: origin of the problem \u2022 DEI and CRT \u2022 what it means to \u201cEducate yourself,\u201d \u201cDo the work,\u201d \u201cListen and learn.\u201d \u2022 top-down vs. bottom-up counter measures \u2022 race reckoning \u2022 antiracism \u2022 gender ideology \u2022 decolonizing and dismantling \u2022 fragility \u2022 intersectionality \u2022 normativity \u2022 positionality \u2022 privilege \u2022 wokeness.