The West’s Cultural Collapse: Moral Cowardice and the Temporary Triumph of Progressive Ideologies, By Charles Taylor (Florida)

The Western world is crumbling under a decades-long assault of cultural degeneration, driven by moral cowardice and misplaced politeness that have allowed progressive ideologies to dominate since the 1960s sexual revolution. Drawing on the Daily Sceptic's critique of politeness as a gateway for corrosive ideologies and Jeffery L. Degner's Misesian analysis of cultural decay, discussed at the blog today, this blog piece argues that the West's decline is both ideological, fuelled by economic distortions, multiculturalism, and a refusal to confront harmful ideas, and biological, marked by plummeting fertility rates. From transgender ideology to unchecked immigration and mental health crises, the failure to challenge progressive dogmas with honest conservatism has eroded traditional values, fractured societies, and threatened demographic survival. An emphasis on human action offers a path to reclaim cultural vitality, but only if the West sheds its pathological politeness.

The Daily Sceptic identifies moral cowardice, disguised as politeness, as the mechanism that has embedded progressive ideologies across Western society. Since the 1960s sexual revolution, which dismantled traditional norms around family and gender, the West has increasingly shied away from confronting radical ideas for fear of causing offense. This cowardice is evident in the trans movement, where professionals like medics and teachers, as the article notes, acquiesce to demands to affirm identities, such as a child identifying as "turquoise" or a colleague as "Jennifer," rather than risk discomfort. This politeness, rooted in a desire to respect individuals, has enabled ideologies like gender fluidity to flourish, leading to "mutilated children, chilling corporate guidelines, and criminalised speech."

Multiculturalism, as critiqued in our blog articles, compounds this decay by valuing diversity over shared values. In the UK, the rise of Islamism, exemplified by cases like a friend's daughter in a headscarf at age nine, goes unchallenged due to polite deference, allowing cultural fragmentation to fester.2025 X posts decrying "foreign influence" in British schools reflects growing unease, yet fear of offending stifles conservative pushback.

Economic distortions, as Degner argues, further erode cultural cohesion. Central bank-driven inflation, fuelling "massification," homogenises identities into a scramble for survival. In the U.S., where housing costs have soared 40% since 2010, young people choose careers over family, reflecting a short-sightedness that undermines long-term cultural investments. This economic pressure, combined with politeness toward progressive ideologies, has allowed the Left to dominate social issues, gender, immigration, and religion, since the 1960s, marginalising conservative values of tradition and cohesion.

The West's cultural degeneration manifests biologically in its fertility crisis, a direct consequence of ideological shifts. Fertility rates in Australia (1.6 children per woman), the U.S. (1.6), and Europe (1.5 or lower) are well below the replacement level of 2.1, signalling a demographic collapse. Degner critiques Robin Hanson's view that this is a biological response to reduced survival pressures, arguing instead that it stems from human choices shaped by progressive ideologies. The 1960s sexual revolution, by normalising promiscuity and devaluing family, set the stage for a "forager culture" of decadence and short-sightedness, as Hanson describes, evident in urban elites choosing education and status over reproduction. Their "brilliant" careers.

In the UK, the mental health crisis, costing £3.6 billion annually in benefits, further undermines fertility, as young people, coddled by polite affirmations of "anxiety," retreat from societal roles like parenting. The Daily Sceptic's example of a school wellbeing officer supporting a child identifying as a Pomeranian illustrates how progressive indulgence stifles resilience, discouraging family formation. This biological decline, driven by ideological choices, threatens the West's ability to sustain its cultural heritage, as fewer children mean fewer stewards of traditional values.

Since the 1960s, moral cowardice has enabled the Left to triumph over conservatism on major social issues. The sexual revolution eroded traditional gender roles, yet conservatives in significant numbers, out of politeness and weakness, failed to challenge its excesses. Multiculturalism, embraced as a progressive ideal, has fragmented Western societies, yet figures like Rowan Williams, as noted in the Daily Sceptic, praise trans individuals like Rachel Mann rather than confront ideological overreach. Similarly, the rise of mental health as a cultural narrative has been met with sympathetic silence, allowing a generation to fester in fragility rather than face honest calls for resilience.

This cowardice extends to political spheres. In Australia, Labor's exploitation of migrant voting blocs, as seen in Bennelong's 9.34% swing, reflects a failure of conservatives to challenge immigration policies that dilute national identity. In the U.S., conservative acquiescence to progressive education curricula, promoting gender fluidity and cultural relativism, has ceded cultural ground. The Left's dominance stems not from superior arguments but from conservatives' refusal to risk offense, allowing ideologies to take root unchallenged.

Degner's Misesian framework, rooted in methodological dualism, rejects Hanson's biological determinism, emphasising that culture arises from human action, choices shaped by ideas and economic realities. The West's degeneration is not an inevitable biological response but a failure of human resolve to confront harmful ideologies. Inflationary policies, as Degner notes, drive massification, forcing couples to choose income over children, as seen in the UK's stagnant economy. Multiculturalism's rejection of assimilation creates division, evident in Canada's ethnic tensions over immigration policies.

To reverse this collapse, the West must embrace honest confrontation over politeness. Conservatives must challenge progressive ideologies, trans ideology, unchecked multiculturalism, and mental health coddling, with frankness, as J.K. Rowling and Kathleen Stock have done. Economically, curbing inflation and supporting families through tax incentives or childcare subsidies could ease pressures deterring reproduction. Culturally, rejecting multiculturalism in favour of shared values, like America's historical emphasis on liberty or Britain's common-law traditions, is essential. Education systems should choose cultural preservation over globalised status markers, teaching resilience and family values.

Public discourse, amplified by platforms like X, can counter progressive narratives. A 2025 X post calling for "a return to British values" in schools suggests growing resistance, but it requires conservative voices to amplify these sentiments without fear of offense. By fostering long-term cultural investments, the West can rebuild a cohesive identity, but it is going to be the battle of the battle of the century.

https://dailysceptic.org/2025/05/23/we-were-too-polite-to-stop-the-woke-takeover/

"Moral cowardice is the term du jour, a neat explainer of how the trans debacle got a stranglehold on decent society. The moral cowardice of medics, teachers, parents and politicians who failed to stand up against a vociferous, if miniscule, trans lobby. If only we ordinary folk had shared the moral bravery of people like J.K. Rowling, Julie Bindell or Kathleen Stock to name only three, none of the mess would have happened. However, a recent training session I attended for social care workers about the Supreme Court ruling has made me query moral cowardice as an explainer and wonder if misplaced politeness is actually to blame.

The room fell silent. We attendees all thought about some of the children we work with who believe themselves to be members of the opposite sex. One child imaginatively doesn't think he's a person at all but a colour: turquoise*. We waited with baited breath about how we would have to explain to families that it was all a bit of a mix-up and their children weren't their chosen sex after all. The advice from the HR officer was – drum roll – "We will continue to treat everyone with respect." That was it. A lecture followed about valuing the integrity of the individuals we work with. Less moral cowardice, more: please don't upset anyone.

It's all very well wishing we could be as clear-eyed and straight talking about these issues as the three heroines above, but how possible is this in real life? Meet Roger, a 14 year-old female school refuser whom I support. When I first visited her house, I had to brace myself because the smell of urine was strong even from the small concrete garden path. Dad opened the door and a variety of saturated puppy mats were laid out in the hall. A baby in a nappy was watching the television. Dad was unshaven and looked sad. He said, "Roger can't face seeing you today. She, sorry, I mean, he, has had a bad night." When Roger did eventually appear, I met a pale wraith-like girl with a crew cut and smart tracksuit. I heard myself saying: "Hi Roger nice to meet you." She clearly had enough troubles and didn't need some middle-aged lady reminding her she was actually called Madeline.

Or the time I first met a colleague I'd only ever spoken to on the phone who called himself Jennifer. When we met in person I was astounded that such a monumental man would attempt to pull off pretending to be a lady. I had to try very hard to repress the gurgling laughter – but who in all good conscience would actually guffaw in someone's face?

I asked around and similar interactions are legion. The lady who runs the local 'chatty café' told me that her best friend's daughter had decided she had no gender and was having a double mastectomy: "I said 'Oh goodness, that's very modern,' I bought her flowers and sent her a Get Well Soon card even though I thought the whole thing was tragic." A West Country churchwarden pretended to be pleased when the local bishop told her that his now male daughter had finally grown a good beard. A school wellbeing officer had to listen supportively to the parents of a child who thought she was a Pomeranian (canine, not Polish).

At no point would I, nor any of these people, toss back our heads and gasp: 'What a deluded twerp! Come on, have a cold shower and stop this nonsense' – even if that's what we were all thinking. And yet, in choosing pathological politeness over frank honesty, we ordinary folk have been complicit in embedding corrosive ideologies. What began with polite conversation ended with mutilated children, chilling corporate guidelines and criminalised speech.

Even Archbishops are not immune. When Mary Wakefield recently interviewed Rowan Williams she pressed him about the trans issue and he remarked that the Rev Rachel Mann (a gentleman with a terrifying red and black website) was a very good poet whom he admired. And though this seems terribly unthinking, it is also very human: we are moved by the individuals we come across and we do not want to hurt or embarrass them. When played out at scale it results in the most appalling societal failure, but on an individual level – what other practical option is there? How do we draw the line between offensive rudeness and frank honesty? With great difficulty it seems.

Alas, trans is not the only issue where politeness to individuals is allowing damaging ideologies to run rampant. (If you're a visual learner, remember the photograph of Michael Gove gazing up at Greta Thunberg.) Consider also the increasing number of young people who are in the grip of mental health issues. Again, the same behaviours apply: the genuine care of family, friends, GPs, mental health professionals and teachers towards individuals who claim to be suffering from 'anxiety' versus the devastating reality of this ideology being embraced at scale, and the negative effects on the individuals of their belief in their own mental fragility. The UK Government is now spending £3.6 billion a year on anxiety and depression benefits – more than on musculoskeletal diseases. Rather than having to wait for a whole generation of young people to fester in their bedrooms, for the economy to continue to stagnate, for the next but one Secretary of State for the DWP to belatedly commission a review, wouldn't it be better if thousands of ordinary – more honest – conservations took place up and down the country: "Come on, I know you feel wretched, but a job, some exercise and socialising will help put you right."

More troubling still, Islamism. When my friend Nur put her nine year-old daughter in a head-scarf, I was gutted for the girl. I managed a smile and said, "Isn't she growing up?" I wish now I had elevated my concerns for the girl and the growing Islamification of the UK above my wish not to insult my friend or stick my nose into her business. But I honestly cannot visualise how I would have articulated this without causing the most dreadful scene. I have no doubt there are thousands of school teachers, social workers, friends and neighbours who feel the same but avoid being anything other than polite to the individuals they know, like and work with. In doing so, we ignore – until it becomes impossible to ignore – the wider problems created by such duplicitous polite acceptance.

If, as a society, we can work out a way of honestly honouring the individual – and at the same time making it very clear we hold no truck with their ideology or choices, then so much the better. Answers on a postcard please."