Good‑Guy/Bad‑Guy Frame Governs Debate

Public intellectual disputes increasingly map onto a binary moral script: participants are sorted as 'good' or 'bad' and then judged on that moral status rather than the merits of specific claims. That frame amplifies legitimacy fights (who gets debated, funded, or cancelled) and shapes institutional responses from universities to media outlets. — If true, this framing explains why engagement with controversial figures (e.g., Pinker debating Murray) becomes a proxy battle over institutional legitimacy and political funding rather than a substantive exchange of ideas.