The Madness of Crowds

In the long-awaited follow-up to his 2016 best-seller The Strange Death of Europe, Douglas Murray interrogates the vicious new culture wars playing out in our media, universities, homes and perhaps the most violent place of all: online. The Madness of Crowds is a must-read polemic-a vociferous demand for a return to free speech in an age of mass hysteria and political correctness. The global conversations around sexuality, race, mental health and gender are heavily policed by the loud and frequently anonymous voices on social media and in the press. Once conceived as forums for open speech, social media and online networks have emboldened the mob and exacerbated groupthink-self-censorship and public shaming have become rife. As a result, Murray argues, we have become paralyzed by the fear of being criticized and have unlearned the ability to speak frankly about some of the most important issues affecting society. Murray walks against the tide of censorship. He asks us to think more openly about what we're afraid to say; to think outside of the mob and the psychology of the crowd.