A short book advancing the idea that while Critical Theory advocates for practicing Memory Politics (the idea of being critical of the past, and promoting awareness of past injustices in order to inform analysis and improvement of the present), it often does so without being self-critical. Critical theory is strongly associated with leftism, but this criticism is often not applied to transgressions that leftist regimes have conducted.
Another interesting example given is how the equivalent of Hate Speech in socialist regimes often takes the form of a purity criticism of disloyalty against the regime. Discrimination against minorities is often filtered through the lens of accusations of treachery or terrorism against the state.
One flaw in the book is that it doesn’t grapple with the extent to which critical theory is applied cynically. Criticism is a powerful tool to wound your political enemies, so naturally you wouldn’t employ it against yourself. At its worst, it becomes only a rhetorical game, practiced dishonestly for the sole purpose of advancing political aims. This ties in with a broader problem: Radicalism avoids Power. In brief, criticism is at its most powerful when you’re criticizing power, and are completely removed from power, so as to not need any self reflection. The problem is if you are successful in your criticism, and come to power, then criticality fails as a mode of politics, because you yourself have become the power, and the critical project needs to engage in self-reflection to continue. It is often much easier for the post-radical state to instead create enemies that it can be critical of in order to avoid this self-reflection.