I’ve heard people criticize this for lacking nuance, not engaging with critics, and not citing sources. I feel this misunderstands the genre. It’s a manifesto. It’s not supposed to be nuanced or appeal to critics; it’s supposed to be even a little divisive, drawing a line in the sand, recruiting those who are already sympathetic and ignoring or even repelling those who are not. It’s not supposed to argue for its claims, it’s supposed to stake out some beliefs and declare them.
If you just don’t like manifestos of any stripe, then fine; but it never makes sense to criticize a piece for not being in a different genre.
I’ve heard people criticize this for lacking nuance, not engaging with critics, and not citing sources. I feel this misunderstands the genre. It’s a manifesto. It’s not supposed to be nuanced or appeal to critics; it’s supposed to be even a little divisive, drawing a line in the sand, recruiting those who are already sympathetic and ignoring or even repelling those who are not. It’s not supposed to argue for its claims, it’s supposed to stake out some beliefs and declare them.
If you just don’t like manifestos of any stripe, then fine; but it never makes sense to criticize a piece for not being in a different genre.
This works both ways imo. You can boldly state things in a manifesto, and people can boldly criticize it.
Haha, fair point! (Although I would suggest that the most productive way to do that would be to pen an opposing manifesto.)