Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro masterfully dismantled Critical Race Theory in just sixty-five seconds during his appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Saturday, breaking down the concept, which those on the left are trying to integrate into K-12 curriculum, in a concise explanation.
Shapiro was asked about Critical Race Theory during the “Real Time” panel, where he faced off with MSNBC contributor Malcolm Nance. In an apparent effort to avoid being accused of “redefining” the concept of CRT, Shapiro took the audience through the theory, which he studied in law school.
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WATCH: In only 65 seconds, @BenShapiro gives the best and most substantive definition of critical race theory you'll ever hear or read. pic.twitter.com/7pXXIxQHo6
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 7, 2021
“Critical Race Theory, essentially, argues that racism is baked into all the systems of American society and that any sort of neutral system is in fact a guise for racial power,” Shapiro began.
“And the argument is by, Derrick Bell, for example, that Brown v. Board of Education — this is an argument he made in 1991 — that Brown v. Board of Education was actually a way for the white community to leverage its own power,” Shapiro explained. “It wasn’t an attempt to end segregation in the public schools. Even things that are purportedly good, in terms of race, so long as they uphold these broader systems, things like capitalism, things like the meritocracy, these things are just guises for power.”
“And so what that boils down to in sort of practical terms is, all disparity equals discrimination. If you can see any stat where black people are underperforming white people, this means the system was set up for the benefit of white people and that white people have a duty to tear down these systems in order to alleviate the racism that’s implicit in those systems,” he added.
Shapiro then moved on to explaining how Critical Race Theory — a complex theory on its own, typically taught at only high levels — ultimately fits into elementary and high school curricula.
“When it comes to schools, what this tends to boil down to is kids who are white have experienced privilege because the system was built for white people and we have to change the standard,” he said.
When Nance tried to suggest that Shapiro’s definition of Critical Race Theory was accurate, in the sense that everything Shapiro explained was actually true, Shapiro fired back, using Nance’s own success to demonstrate a fatal flaw in his argument.
“You seem to be a pretty good beneficiary of the meritocracy because you have merit,” Shapiro noted. “If you’re going to criticize the meritocracy as an outgrowth of white supremacy, then you’re going to have to tear down the system … you’ve succeeded in.”
Nance, apparently struggling to respond, then accused Shapiro of wanting to ensure that future generations are left ignorant of certain aspects of American history.
Shapiro’s performance received praise on social media Friday night, following HBO’s airing. The praise was so effusive that his opponent, Nance, claimed that bots were hired to promote Shapiro’s appearance and denigrate his own, according to Newsweek.