Liberals pushing back against cancel culture in the US; the withering of the US-South Korea alliance - a podcast by ABC Radio

Liberals pushing back against cancel culture in the US

Some people call it cancel culture because it is based on mainly online activism aimed at 'cancelling' or withdrawing support from a celebrity or public figure.

But in the last few years it has extended away from pop culture celebrities into academic institutions, writers festivals and even mainstream newspapers like the New York Times.

Advocates argue they are righting wrongs and correcting fundamental injustices in the system.

Critics say it promotes illiberalism, creates a censorious culture of intolerance for opposing views and diverts attention from deeper problems.

Yascha Mounk, founder of Persuasion, signatory to the Harpers Letter, Associate Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University. Author of The People versus Democracy - Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It.


And, is the alliance between the US and South Korea unravelling?

President Trump botched the North Korean nuclear deal, and he has been threatening to pull US troops out the Demilitarised Zone between the two Koreas unless South Korea pays billions more to the US.

But with the tensions between the US and China growing, doesn't Washington need democratic allies in the region now, more than ever?

Sue Mi Terry, Senior Fellow for Korea, and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC.

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