An Anti-Woke Warrior Has US Companies Running Scared

The poet Shelley once described poets as “the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” In today’s America, that honor belongs to the armchair warriors of the culture wars. Already on the ascent, left-wing academics such as Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo gained even more influence in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. In reaction, a new generation of conservative culture warriors is rising, taking aim not only at their ideological opponents but also at some of the country’s biggest corporations as their chief executive officers and boards weigh which, if any, side to take.

Few of these new warriors on the right have been more effective sharpshooters than Christopher Rufo, who is devoting his life to doing battle with what he regards as the monsters of “critical race theory” and “gender ideology.” Rufo’s articles, social media posts and TV appearances have garnered widespread attention and influence. He has written model legislation for several Republican states, inspired one of Donald Trump’s executive orders and produced a guide on how to talk about culture. In one profile, the New Yorker described him as the man who “invented the conflict over critical race theory.” In another, New York magazine accused him of being a specialist in moral panics. Yet notwithstanding the boiling anger that he has stirred, he came across in our recent conversation as a relatively happy warrior who relishes the daily struggle. (He adds for good measure that his neighbors are heavily armed Republicans so he doesn’t fear for his safety.) He’s much less angry than Steve Bannon, who often gives the impression that he has steam coming out of his ears, and much more measured than Ann Coulter, avoiding making outrageous statements except when they’re ascribed to the other side and happily discussing serious thinkers in a serious way.