Imagine if a political philosopher from outside the hard Left — John Rawls, say, or Karl Popper — was credibly alleged to have abused small boys. He would disappear from the curriculum, mainstream publishers would drop his books, and his ideas would circulate only in samizdat form.

But cancel culture is nothing if not selective, and we may be sure that Michel Foucault, who has a pretty good claim to be the godfather of modern identity politics, will remain as fashionable as ever, despite claims that he habitually raped Arab children.