We Are Treating Each Other as ‘Political Abstractions,’ Chloe Valdary Has a Way to Fix That

American Thought Leaders

Chloé Valdary is the founder of an alternative model to the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training programs found in many corporations. Her alternative, called the “Theory of Enchantment,” first emerged from her work educating people about anti-Semitism and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

“They would say to you, ‘You are a white man, and therefore you are privileged. And therefore you belong to the ’oppressor class.‘ I, as a person of color, belongs to the ’oppressed class.' And we are—you and I—locked in a Manichean struggle from now until the end of time. There’s no escape valve,” said Ms. Valdary.

“There are three principles to the theory of enchantment. [The] first principle is treat people like human beings, not political abstractions. Second principle is criticize to uplift and empower, never to tear down or destroy. And third principle is root everything you do in love and compassion.”

We discuss concepts such as supremacy, identity, outrage, race, and religion.

“We are a Protestant nation. Protest is our founding religion. And so, we are confronted with a great challenge, which is the challenge of growing up. We are a very young nation, and I think that all of these ‘culture wars’ are an invitation to engage in some self-reflection, collectively, and grow up,” said Ms. Valdary.

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.