The new culture wars: Why critical race theory matters more than cancel culture

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundA set of ‘New Culture Wars’ over questions of majority identity protection and free speech have become important in American politics, but have not received attention from empirical political scienceObjectiveCompare the relative size of partisan differences on issues of ‘Cancel Culture’ and ‘Critical Race Theory’.MethodLogistic regression models using attitudes toward real‐world Cancel Culture and Critical Race Theory examples to predict partisanship.ResultsData show that Republican voters are no more likely to fear career consequences or dismissal for speech than Democrats. Republicans are also more opposed to teaching critical perspectives on race and history in schools than they are to employees being fired for dissenting speech within organizations. Strong white identifiers are both more opposed to diversity training which emphasizes white racism and less opposed to firing people for disputed cases of racist or sexist speech.ConclusionDue to the distinctive moral foundations of conservative voters, this paper argues that perceived attacks on white and American identity are a more powerful source of grievance for Republican voters than concerns over freedom of expression. It is hypothesized that the conservative moral foundation of group loyalty helps to explain these findings.