Source: Brownstone Institute
by Toby Rogers
“Immanent critique is the ultimate academic flex. It shows that you understand your opponent’s argument better than they understand it themselves. It disarms your opponent without a clash of swords (metaphorical or literal). In general, it’s really difficult to change someone’s mind. But if one is to have any chance of changing someone’s mind, immanent critique is probably one of the best ways to do it. A strong case can be made that the success of the abolition movement, the Suffragette movement, Gandhi’s anti-colonial movement in India, and the civil rights movement, to name a few, stems at least in part from their skillful use of immanent critique (although one would have called it something different at the time and each of these movements used a blend of rhetorical and political organizing strategies).” (04/12/25)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-limits-of-immanent-critique/