Focus Criticism on Ideas

Criticism that targets arguments and policies rather than personal traits or private lives preserves the critic’s epistemic capacity and avoids amplifying the target. Public figures and communities (e.g., Marginal Revolution, Effective Altruism) face cycles of personal‑attack backlash that reward spectacle and weaken substantive debate. — Norms about how we criticize intellectuals shape whether public conversation produces learning or publicity-driven polarization.