The articles critiquing Scrum are not like the ones that defend it: just as those who have the courage to speak up against an oppressive regime are not like the propagandists who promote the regime.

Scrum has a HUGE and well funded marketing machine behind it. This takes many forms - it is insidious. The Serious Scrum forum in Medium is an example of it: that forum is not directly funded by the Scrum Alliance, but it exists because Scrum is so powerful that aligning with Scrum is the best way to get people to sign up.

It is like the letter "Z" in today's Russia. People are afraid to speak against it; and if you speak in favor of it, you get promoted and publicized.

And yet there is a huge pushback - because Scrum is an actual failure from the perspective of what it exists for. I have been consulting to organizations for two decades, and Scrum has caused enormous - ENORMOUS - harm to the Agile movement.

Agile is not Scrum. Scrum is not Agile - or agile. Real agility does not come from a team process. Real agility comes from organizational behavioral norms and culture. Trying to create agility with a team process is like trying to solve New York City's transportation problems by walking differently.