Part 9/15:
Flanigan is sharply critical of the intellectual currents she sees dominating college campuses and cultural institutions, such as queer theory, gender transition propaganda, and postcolonial studies. She traces these ideas back to foundational thinkers like Michel Foucault, criticizing their emphasis on power and relativism—"truth is subordinate to power"—as fundamentally destructive.
She argues that these ideas serve to undermine traditional Western values—especially the principles of individual liberty, moral clarity, and the rule of law—which historically kept barbarism at bay. Instead, these philosophies foster identity politics, division, and even an affinity for violence, as evidenced by her discussion of college activism and the normalization of extreme political stances.