Review: The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray

In today’s political climate, it can be difficult to discern where the right side of every argument is. There are so many issues and compelling examples to point to for any agenda that unless you are intimately aware of everything that happens every day, it is hard to create solid opinions about the state of things. It is helpful to get a bird’s-eye view from people who are involved in the day-to-day discussions of these movements, as they can point to the general trends that we may not be able to see. Douglas Murray’s The Madness of Crowds does this for several prominent social justice issues. Publicly commenting on these issues can be a career killer but Murray does it in a rational and respectful manner that has earned him the respect of the majority of readers.

an image of the book the madness of crowds by douglas murray

The Author

Douglas Murray is a British author and political commentator. He regularly writes columns and appears on various news outlets. His books include Neoconservatism: Why We Need It (2005), Bloody Sunday: Truths, Lies and the Saville Inquiry (2011) about the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, and The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam (2017). He is also an associate editor at the British magazine The Spectator which is the oldest weekly magazine in the world. He has appeared online and publicly alongside prominent figures such as Joe Rogan, Sam Harris, and Jordan Peterson.

Murray has been described as a conservative and even criticized as being a promoter of far-right ideologies. He has stated that he is frequently mislabeled politically. This seems at least somewhat apparent as he is a gay man and supporter of same-sex marriage. He also has expressed criticism of right wing figures in the past as well.

The Book

The Madness of Crowds is broken into four chapters titled: “Gay”, “Women”, “Race”, and “Trans”. Each chapter explores examples of how these four realms of social justice have taken on a strong victim ideology in recent years. Murray claims this is particularly interesting given that there has never been a fairer time to belong to one of these "oppressed" classes. He walks through various events of recent years such as the #killallmen phenomenon and the evergreen state college riots. He gives examples of how efforts to correct the supposed oppression present in victim classes has led to directly observed oppression such as the suppression of Asian admittance into Harvard.

Murray treads into what many would consider dangerous waters to show the failings of these movements. He never denies that there are not fringe issues left to be dealt with; however, he says that the attitude and examples that the far left is portraying in recent years makes it nearly impossible to achieve progress. The Madness of Crowds makes compelling, rational arguments with pointed examples so even if your politics have you disagreeing with Murray before you begin reading, by the end you will agree with his view of the situation we find ourselves in.

I think the closing statement of the book provides the best summary of Murray's purpose for this book:

We may certainly aim to live in a society in which nobody should be held back from what they can do because of some personal characteristic allotted to them by chance. If somebody has the competency to do something, and the desire to do something, then nothing about their race, sex, or sexual orientation should hold them back. But minimizing difference is not the same as pretending difference does not exist. To assume that sex, sexuality, and skin colour mean nothing would be ridiculous. But to assume that they mean everything will be fatal.