Cultural Marxism, Post-Cold War Propaganda (non-fiction article)

Marxism is primarily a criticism of capitalism. Marxism has been used as a core building block of many far-left ideologies and economic systems, such as communism or anarchism. It describes an opinion that capitalism is inherently built on the exploitation of the proletariat (what we would now call the working class).   Cultural Marxism is a term used disparagingly by many on the far right towards those on the left, left-wing policies, or things that they feel are radical that they credit to the left. The term Cultural Marxism comes from the belief that the left is part of a conspiracy to overthrow the West and all the traditional values they claim come with it, emphasising Christian values in particular.  

 Did Karl Marx oppose Christianity? Yes, in his piece “Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right,” he critiques religion for its “illusory happiness of the people” and compares it to chains with imaginary flowers growing on them.   The USSR, probably the most well-known “communist” state, adopted an atheist policy. This is arguably directly because of Marxism which, while not communist, was a founding idea of communism. It could've also been a product of the Soviet Union's one-party policy of wanting to avoid organized religion that could threaten their power.   Karl Marx felt that when the false security of religion was shattered, people would begin looking for real solutions like the overthrow of capitalism.  So does Marxism oppose Christian values? Arguably not. I cut them off talking about the imaginary flowers growing on chains. What he went on to say was, “Criticism has plucked the imaginary flowers on the chain not in order that man shall continue to bear that chain without fantasy or consolation, but so that he shall throw off the chain and pluck the living flower.”  He believes that the ideas it offers are good, but he just thinks that they can't fulfil those ideas. Otherwise, he wouldn't encourage us to pluck a real flower. 

So, is the left guilty of trying to topple the West and Christianity? That is very difficult to say because the left is around 50% of the world. Something that is pretty fair to say, though, is that liberals are not Marxists. Liberals, counter to popular opinion, favour capitalism; they just believe in a more equal form of it through, for example, more progressive tax plans to help more people. So, are the left even close to being guilty of cultural Marxism? No, I wouldn't say they are. Is anyone guilty of cultural Marxism in any position that isn't a deputy manager at Starbucks with an anarchism tattoo?

Cultural Marxism is a fake conspiracy theory that plays into a very real Christian persecution complex, building on top of the Red Scare politics, antisemitism, and propaganda. Is that deputy manager at Starbucks with that cool-as-shit tattoo guilty of cultural Marxism? No. It’s not real; it is built on the idea that there is a shadowy cabal of left-wing people with positions of power working together with the expressed goal of overthrowing the West and Christianity.  A lie about a shadowy cabal trying to overthrow Christianity and the West—haven’t I heard that before, from a pretty shit painter? That’s right, it's antisemitism, again. 

Cultural Marxism has no basis in reality. It is reactionary politics incarnate. Right-wing politicians, especially in America, have for the most part been vocally anti-communist. But what happens when there are no communists to be against? What happens when Soviet Russia falls? You have to make the bogeyman. Being anti-communist is easy in America—they have years of anti-communist Red Scare propaganda bred into them. Communism has become a shorthand for fascism in many cases. Conservative politics is built on trying to preserve the status quo, but what happens when the status quo is hurting the people who vote for you? You need to blame a bogeyman. This is not to say that all conservatives engage with this, and I'm not even saying that most conservatives agree, believe, or say this. This is to say the ones who get the sound bites do.