The Sunday Times Bestseller'Provides a way of understanding what happened to us that preserves the humanity of all parties and points the way forward toward renewal' Jonathan Haidt 'Makes moral and cultural sense of a profoundly perplexing time... This is an essential book' Yuval LevinPainting a clear and detailed picture of the ideas and events that have paved the way for the dramatic paradigm shift in social justice that has taken place over the past few years, Thomas Chatterton Williams provides an incisive, culturally observant analysis of the evolving mores, manners and taboos of social justice orthodoxy. Exploring what has shaped the ways we think about diversity and freedom of expression, Williams unravels the ideology of critical race theory. Examining the rise of an oppressive social media, the fall from Obama to Trump and the twinned crises of COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd, he documents the extent to which these events have altered the ambient language and culture we use to make sense of our daily lives. Showing how liberalism - the very foundation of an open and vibrant society - is experiencing an existential crisis, under assault from the right and the left, this is an essential and compelling examination of our place in a radically changing world.