The decline of Jordan Peterson

What on earth has happened to Jordan Peterson’s interviewing style? His latest video, which features Elon Musk, lasts for two hours. It makes for painful viewing. As during many of his recent podcasts, Peterson interrupts his guest’s train of thought with his own, often long-winded, asides. Peterson’s flashy outfit only added to the feeling that it is as much about him as the guest.

I started following the professor a few years ago while researching my book on modern masculinity. Back then, his arguments were fascinating. At the height of his fame, I interviewed him for this magazine and was impressed by his considered responses. Peterson seemed genuinely interested in ideas and in other people’s opinions. He was a breath of fresh air.

His no nonsense, “pull your socks up” approach to the vagaries of living seemed oddly radical back when his book 12 Rules for Life first burst onto the scene in 2018. There’s no doubt that Peterson has had a radical impact; inspiring a generation of lost souls to bear their crosses with magnanimity is one hell of an achievement. But I miss the wily old fox who could pick apart a poorly reasoned argument with a few devastating quips. He did this splendidly during that interview on Channel 4 News with Cathy Newman. It was an exchange from which Newman never really recovered; and which led to Peterson winning over legions of fans. His YouTube videos felt like mini events as he bravely argued against establishment thinking. Thousands of avid followers would take to the comments section to discuss his latest theory about Christian worship or the importance of telling the truth. 

We saw a different Peterson in his exchange with Musk

We saw a different Peterson in his exchange with Musk. His apparent descent into a shock-jock YouTuber is concerning. Although I didn’t always agree with his views, it felt good to know he was out there on the cutting edge, pushing back against the forces of lunacy. Those days are, sadly, long gone.

His tendency to lecture guests rather than engage with them means he has lost that vital ability to simply listen and respond. During much of the Musk interview, Peterson drowns out anything interesting the billionaire might have to say. That famously enquiring mind now appears less interested in new ideas; he knows what he knows and that’s the end of it. 

When Musk speaks movingly about his son’s struggle with the gender identity “mind virus.” Peterson comes across as hysterical and intolerant, chucking words like “pathetic” into the mix. It’s hardly the stuff of intellectual rigor. Why didn’t he let Musk speak? At one point, he gives Musk dietary advice.

The trouble is, we already know what Peterson thinks on a wide range of topics, so why keep bringing them up? We get that human beings are prone to certain “proclivities” so isn’t it time to move on? We hear from Musk far less frequently, but we are not much the wiser after this interview.

Judging by some of the comments under that video, fans are losing patience. Yes, they remain hungry for new ideas — especially from an iconoclastic industrialist and would-be Mars colonizer like Musk. But somehow Peterson manages to bring every argument back to his own set of well-worn beliefs. The risk is that the “prophet of our times” becomes a sad parody of our times. 

This article was originally published on The Spectator’s UK website.