Changes

[[File:Gramsci.png|thumb|200px|Antonio Gramsci]]

[[File:Gramsci.png|thumb|200px|Antonio Gramsci]]

'''Cultural Marxism''' is a branch of [[Marxist]] ideology formulated by the ''[[Frankfurt School]]'', which had its origins the early part of the twentieth century.  Cultural Marxism comprises much of the foundation of [[political correctness]] and [[Woke|wokeism]]. It emerged as a response of [[Europe]]an Marxist intellectuals disillusioned by the early political failures of conventional economic Marxist ideology.<ref>cf. External source: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIdBuK7_g3M Cultural Marxism: The Corruption of America] is a James Jaeger Film with ambition to show how ''a love affair with collectivist ideologies has lead to ever bigger government and the welfare-warfare state. Lead by a Marxist splinter group called the "[[Frankfurt School]]" -- "[[the long march through the institutions]]" has infiltrated every corner of [[Western culture]] to corrupt traditional Christian values with "[[political correctness]]," another name for "cultural Marxism."''</ref> Cultural Marxism was also opposed to Soviet Communism.<ref>Academic Agent (October 11, 2020). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niiF8hCSrYQ Demoralization: What Yuri Bezmenov Didn't Tell You]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved October 8, 2023.</ref>

'''Cultural Marxism''' is a branch of [[Marxist]] ideology formulated by the ''[[Frankfurt School]]'', which had its origins the early part of the twentieth century.  Cultural Marxism comprises much of the foundation of [[political correctness]] and [[woke]]ism. It emerged as a response of [[Europe]]an Marxist intellectuals disillusioned by the early political failures of conventional economic Marxist ideology.<ref>cf. External source: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIdBuK7_g3M Cultural Marxism: The Corruption of America] is a James Jaeger Film with ambition to show how ''a love affair with collectivist ideologies has lead to ever bigger government and the welfare-warfare state. Lead by a Marxist splinter group called the "[[Frankfurt School]]" -- "[[the long march through the institutions]]" has infiltrated every corner of [[Western culture]] to corrupt traditional Christian values with "[[political correctness]]," another name for "cultural Marxism."''</ref> Cultural Marxism was also opposed to Soviet Communism.<ref>Academic Agent (October 11, 2020). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niiF8hCSrYQ Demoralization: What Yuri Bezmenov Didn't Tell You]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved October 8, 2023.</ref>

The central idea of Cultural Marxism is to soften up and prepare [[Western Civilization]] for [[economic]] Marxism after a gradual, relentless, sustained attack on every institution of Western culture,<ref>Ludwig, E. Jeffrey (October 23, 2019). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/communist-influences-are-destroying-the-us-faster-and-faster Communist influences are destroying the US, faster and faster]. ''LifeSiteNews''. Retrieved October 23, 2019.</ref> including schools,<ref>Svab, Petr (November 25, 2019). [https://www.theepochtimes.com/school-programs-mixed-with-social-marxism-spread-through-america_3152761.html School Programs Mixed With Social Marxism Spread Through America]. ''The Epoch Times''. Retrieved November 25, 2019.</ref> literature, art, film, the [[Judeo-Christian]] worldview, tradition, [[marriage]] and the [[Destroying the family|family]],<ref>Solway, David (August 23, 2018). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/karl-marx-hated-marriage-and-marxism-is-marriages-enemy Karl Marx hated marriage, and Marxism is marriage’s enemy]. ''LifeSiteNews'' (from the ''American Thinker''). Retrieved August 28, 2018.</ref> sexual mores, [[War on Sovereignty|national sovereignty]], etc.<ref>cf. The tendency of dictatorial ideologies to influence public institutions etc. so that these would serve their agendas is termed as [[Gleichschaltung]].<br>

The central idea of Cultural Marxism is to soften up and prepare [[Western Civilization]] for [[economic]] Marxism after a gradual, relentless, sustained attack on every institution of Western culture,<ref>Ludwig, E. Jeffrey (October 23, 2019). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/communist-influences-are-destroying-the-us-faster-and-faster Communist influences are destroying the US, faster and faster]. ''LifeSiteNews''. Retrieved October 23, 2019.</ref> including schools,<ref>Svab, Petr (November 25, 2019). [https://www.theepochtimes.com/school-programs-mixed-with-social-marxism-spread-through-america_3152761.html School Programs Mixed With Social Marxism Spread Through America]. ''The Epoch Times''. Retrieved November 25, 2019.</ref> literature, art, film, the [[Judeo-Christian]] worldview, tradition, [[marriage]] and the [[Destroying the family|family]],<ref>Solway, David (August 23, 2018). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/karl-marx-hated-marriage-and-marxism-is-marriages-enemy Karl Marx hated marriage, and Marxism is marriage’s enemy]. ''LifeSiteNews'' (from the ''American Thinker''). Retrieved August 28, 2018.</ref> sexual mores, [[War on Sovereignty|national sovereignty]], etc.<ref>cf. The tendency of dictatorial ideologies to influence public institutions etc. so that these would serve their agendas is termed as [[Gleichschaltung]].<br>

Engels declared that Balzac was his favorite writer. Marx's ''Das Kapital'' also makes some references to the works of Balzac.

Engels declared that Balzac was his favorite writer. Marx's ''Das Kapital'' also makes some references to the works of Balzac.

[[Vladimir Lenin]] was also a proponent of Realism and stressed its superiority over [[Modernism]]. He considered [[Leo Tolstoy]] to be the most effective depicter of the everyday life of Russian peasants, even though Tolstoy was a nobleman. Lenin once wrote to [[Maxim Gorky]]: "Until this Count, we had no real peasant in our literature."<ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/gorky-maxim/1924/lenin-the_man.html</ref> Here too, the personal merit of Tolstoy as an author, to Lenin, is not the superlative genius of Tolstoy that enabled him to represent both the Russian [[Kulak|Kulaks]] as well as the Russian Muzhiks so effectively. Ultimately it was the compulsion for truthful representation that made Tolstoy do so.<ref>https://www.academia.edu/28848230/Two_Balzacs_Two_Gogols_Two_Tolstoys</ref>

[[Vladimir Lenin]] was also a proponent of Realism and stressed its superiority over [[Modernism]]. He considered [[Leo Tolstoy]] to be the most effective depicter of the everyday life of Russian peasants, even though Tolstoy was a nobleman. Lenin once wrote to [[Maxim Gorky]]: "Until this Count, we had no real peasant in our literature."<ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/gorky-maxim/1924/lenin-the_man.html</ref> Here too, the personal merit of Tolstoy as an author, to Lenin, is not the superlative genius of Tolstoy that enabled him to represent both the Russian [[Kulak]]s as well as the Russian Muzhiks so effectively. Ultimately it was the compulsion for truthful representation that made Tolstoy do so.<ref>https://www.academia.edu/28848230/Two_Balzacs_Two_Gogols_Two_Tolstoys</ref>

Both the thesis of Marx-Engels on Balzac and that of Lenin on Tolstoy hold that it is the conditions of the class struggle which determine those of the cultural struggle, not vice versa (for it was the advent of French capitalism in Balzac's case and the fight of Russian peasants for emancipation in Tolstoy's case that "woke up" the two authors and oriented them towards social realism), and thus the cultural struggle must be subordinate to the class struggle.

Both the thesis of Marx-Engels on Balzac and that of Lenin on Tolstoy hold that it is the conditions of the class struggle which determine those of the cultural struggle, not vice versa (for it was the advent of French capitalism in Balzac's case and the fight of Russian peasants for emancipation in Tolstoy's case that "woke up" the two authors and oriented them towards social realism), and thus the cultural struggle must be subordinate to the class struggle.

Knowing the above, one can more easily understand the nature of the cultural debates between [[Marxism|Marxist]] intellectuals in the 1920s. The Soviet "orthodox" Marxists, such as [[Grigory Zinoviev]], Nikolai Bukharin and Karl Radek, maintained that the revolution in capitalist countries will come only through the [[class warfare|class struggle]] of the workers against the [[bourgeoisie]] and that culture plays a secondary role in this struggle. They also maintained that Marxist art should adhere to a simple, realistic and popularly understandable depiction of the evils of capitalism.

Knowing the above, one can more easily understand the nature of the cultural debates between [[Marxism|Marxist]] intellectuals in the 1920s. The Soviet "orthodox" Marxists, such as [[Grigory Zinoviev]], Nikolai Bukharin and Karl Radek, maintained that the revolution in capitalist countries will come only through the [[class warfare|class struggle]] of the workers against the [[bourgeoisie]] and that culture plays a secondary role in this struggle. They also maintained that Marxist art should adhere to a simple, realistic and popularly understandable depiction of the evils of capitalism.

In a 1924 [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Soviet Communist Party]] congress, many Cultural Marxist and Modernist authors were harshly criticized by Soviet officials as "heretics". In his speech entitled The Struggle Against the Ultra-Lefts and Theoretical Revisionism, Zinoviev fiercely attacked [[Georg Lukacs]]' book History and Class Consciousness, declaring: ‘If we get more of these professors spinning out their Marxist theories, we shall be lost. We cannot tolerate theoretical revisionism of this kind in our Communist International.’ Nikolai Bukharin, soon to replace Zinoviev as [[Joseph Stalin]]’s chief ally in the [[Comintern]], told Karl Korsch, author of one of the most influential Cultural Marxist texts: ‘We can’t put every piece of garbage up for discussion.’<ref>https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/revhist/backiss/vol8/no1/smith.html</ref> Karl Radek also formulated the superiority of classical [[European]] Realism over Modernism, saying "If I were to write novels, I would learn how to write them from Tolstoy and Balzac, not from [[James Joyce]]."<ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/radek/1934/sovietwritercongress.htm</ref> This year, which coincides with Stalin's takeover of the Party, marks the moment in which the [[Soviet Union]] closed its door to Cultural Marxism. Soon, the USSR made illegal such evils as [[homosexuality]] and [[abortion]].<ref>https://www.marxist.com/from-emancipation-to-criminalisation-stalinist-persecution-of-homosexuals-from-1934.htm</ref><ref>http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1936-2/abolition-of-legal-abortion/</ref>. From now on, Cultural Marxists considered the USSR as the "betrayer of the revolution". The advent of the [[Hitler]] dictatorship in [[Germany]] also meant the Frankfurt School was closed, and from 1933 Cultural Marxists started emigrating to America.

In a 1924 [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Soviet Communist Party]] congress, many Cultural Marxist and Modernist authors were harshly criticized by Soviet officials as "heretics". In his speech entitled The Struggle Against the Ultra-Lefts and Theoretical Revisionism, Zinoviev fiercely attacked [[Georg Lukacs]]' book History and Class Consciousness, declaring: ‘If we get more of these professors spinning out their Marxist theories, we shall be lost. We cannot tolerate theoretical revisionism of this kind in our Communist International.’ Nikolai Bukharin, soon to replace Zinoviev as [[Joseph Stalin]]’s chief ally in the [[Comintern]], told Karl Korsch, author of one of the most influential Cultural Marxist texts: ‘We can’t put every piece of garbage up for discussion.’<ref>https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/revhist/backiss/vol8/no1/smith.html</ref> Karl Radek also formulated the superiority of classical [[European]] Realism over Modernism, saying "If I were to write novels, I would learn how to write them from Tolstoy and Balzac, not from [[James Joyce]]."<ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/radek/1934/sovietwritercongress.htm</ref> This year, which coincides with Stalin's takeover of the Party, marks the moment in which the [[Soviet Union]] closed its door to Cultural Marxism. Soon, the USSR made illegal such evils as [[homosexuality]] and [[abortion]].<ref>https://www.marxist.com/from-emancipation-to-criminalisation-stalinist-persecution-of-homosexuals-from-1934.htm</ref><ref>http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1936-2/abolition-of-legal-abortion/</ref> From now on, Cultural Marxists considered the USSR as the "betrayer of the revolution". The advent of the [[Hitler]] dictatorship in [[Germany]] also meant the Frankfurt School was closed, and from 1933 Cultural Marxists started emigrating to America.

Karl Korsch, [[Georg Lukacs]] (only in his early philosophical period) and [[Antonio Gramsci]] (see below) were the original founders of Cultural Marxism. Their thought influenced that of the members of the [[Frankfurt School]] of [[Critical Theory]] ([[Theodor Adorno]], [[Max Horkheimer]], Walter Benjamin, [[Herbert Marcuse]], [[Erich Fromm]] etc.) who mingled Marxism with the theories of [[Sigmund Freud]], [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] and [[Immanuel Kant]], something unacceptable for Soviet Marxists. For the Cultural Marxists, the world of ideas is equally important to the material one, and they maintained that it is possible for a revolution in the world of ideas to lead to a revolution in the material world. They also abandoned the defense of realism and instead championed [[modernism]] and [[abstract art]], labelled as "degenerate" by both Nazis and Soviets. In response, they equated [[Nazism]] and [[Stalinism]], being some of the first proponents of the theory of [[totalitarianism]]. The Frankfurt School's theories, akin to neo-Hegelian dialectical idealism and "Freudo-Marxism" focusing on "[[sexual revolution|sexual liberation]]", are what forms the crux of Cultural Marxism.

Karl Korsch, [[Georg Lukacs]] (only in his early philosophical period) and [[Antonio Gramsci]] (see below) were the original founders of Cultural Marxism. Their thought influenced that of the members of the [[Frankfurt School]] of [[Critical Theory]] ([[Theodor Adorno]], [[Max Horkheimer]], Walter Benjamin, [[Herbert Marcuse]], [[Erich Fromm]] etc.) who mingled Marxism with the theories of [[Sigmund Freud]], [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] and [[Immanuel Kant]], something unacceptable for Soviet Marxists. For the Cultural Marxists, the world of ideas is equally important to the material one, and they maintained that it is possible for a revolution in the world of ideas to lead to a revolution in the material world. They also abandoned the defense of realism and instead championed [[modernism]] and [[abstract art]], labelled as "degenerate" by both Nazis and Soviets. In response, they equated [[Nazism]] and [[Stalinism]], being some of the first proponents of the theory of [[totalitarianism]]. The Frankfurt School's theories, akin to neo-Hegelian dialectical idealism and "Freudo-Marxism" focusing on "[[sexual revolution|sexual liberation]]", are what forms the crux of Cultural Marxism.

Lukacs, however, soon repudiated these theories and returned to a much more orthodox Marxist stance, coming at odds with his former Frankfurt comrades, whose theories he now labelled "Café Marxism". He chose to live in the Soviet Union and his native [[Hungary]] and became the Culture Minister of the 1956 [[Hungarian Revolution]] under [[Imre Nagy]]. He fiercely criticized those Frankfurt School intellectuals who instead went to live in the comforts of the [[United States]] and [[West Germany]]. In 1962 Lukacs wrote: <blockquote>A considerable part of the leading German intelligentsia, including [[Theodor Adorno|Adorno]], have taken up residence in the "Grand Hotel Abyss" which I described […] as "a beautiful hotel, equipped with every comfort, on the edge of an abyss, of nothingness, of absurdity. And the daily contemplation of the abyss between excellent meals or artistic entertainments, can only heighten the enjoyment of the subtle comforts offered.<ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/lukacs/works/theory-novel/preface.htm</ref>.</blockquote>

Lukacs, however, soon repudiated these theories and returned to a much more orthodox Marxist stance, coming at odds with his former Frankfurt comrades, whose theories he now labelled "Café Marxism". He chose to live in the Soviet Union and his native [[Hungary]] and became the Culture Minister of the 1956 [[Hungarian Revolution]] under [[Imre Nagy]]. He fiercely criticized those Frankfurt School intellectuals who instead went to live in the comforts of the [[United States]] and [[West Germany]]. In 1962 Lukacs wrote: <blockquote>A considerable part of the leading German intelligentsia, including [[Theodor Adorno|Adorno]], have taken up residence in the "Grand Hotel Abyss" which I described […] as "a beautiful hotel, equipped with every comfort, on the edge of an abyss, of nothingness, of absurdity. And the daily contemplation of the abyss between excellent meals or artistic entertainments, can only heighten the enjoyment of the subtle comforts offered.<ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/lukacs/works/theory-novel/preface.htm</ref></blockquote>

In the world of Marxist thinkers, what Lukacs said here is the equivalent of flashing a red cloth around at an angry bull. Lukacs said that the Frankfurt School thinkers started to become bourgeois idealists who didn't care about having an active hand in the fight against political exploitation and oppression. Now that they were famous and kind of moneyed, they were sitting at their cozy desks at the luxurious Grand Hotel writing about Marxism, but they were becoming increasingly detached from its political cause. He pretty much accused them of hypocrisy—of living like fat-cat capitalists and losing focus.<ref>https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literary-critics/gyorgy-lukacs/quotes</ref>

In the world of Marxist thinkers, what Lukacs said here is the equivalent of flashing a red cloth around at an angry bull. Lukacs said that the Frankfurt School thinkers started to become bourgeois idealists who didn't care about having an active hand in the fight against political exploitation and oppression. Now that they were famous and kind of moneyed, they were sitting at their cozy desks at the luxurious Grand Hotel writing about Marxism, but they were becoming increasingly detached from its political cause. He pretty much accused them of hypocrisy—of living like fat-cat capitalists and losing focus.<ref>https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literary-critics/gyorgy-lukacs/quotes</ref>

==Criticism==

==Criticism==

The entire left-wing denies (at least in public) that Cultural Marxism exists, dismissing it as a far right ‘conspiracy theory’ and calling the entire topic a ‘myth’ or ‘hoax’. <ref>[https://attackthesystem.com/2014/05/18/on-the-myth-of-cultural-marxism/  On the Myth of "Cultural Marxism"]</ref> [[Wikipedia]] once provided a more honest [https://archive.md/YzkIS article] discussing the topic, before its irreversible slide into progressive bias compelled it to also write it off as a myth. Wikipedia has an entire section titled ''Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory'' within its page for the ''Frankfurt School''.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_School#Cultural_Marxism_conspiracy_theory Frankfurt School - Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory]</ref> As of September 2020, Wikipedia has added an article titled "Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory," using the image of  convicted terrorist and self-identified Nazi fascist Anders Behring Breivik to discredit its existence via guilt by association. <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Marxism_conspiracy_theory</ref> Virtually every single source trying to prove it’s a myth are [[Conflict of interest|blatantly biased towards the left or even come from fellow Marxists. Most egregiously, at least one widely cited source comes from the Frankfurt School itself]].

The entire left-wing denies (at least in public) that Cultural Marxism exists, dismissing it as a far right ‘conspiracy theory’ and calling the entire topic a ‘myth’ or ‘hoax’.<ref>[https://attackthesystem.com/2014/05/18/on-the-myth-of-cultural-marxism/  On the Myth of "Cultural Marxism"]</ref> [[Wikipedia]] once provided a more honest [https://archive.md/YzkIS article] discussing the topic, before its irreversible slide into progressive bias compelled it to also write it off as a myth. Wikipedia has an entire section titled ''Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory'' within its page for the ''Frankfurt School''.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_School#Cultural_Marxism_conspiracy_theory Frankfurt School - Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory]</ref> As of September 2020, Wikipedia has added an article titled "Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory," using the image of  convicted terrorist and self-identified Nazi fascist Anders Behring Breivik to discredit its existence via guilt by association.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Marxism_conspiracy_theory</ref> Virtually every single source trying to prove it's a myth are [[Conflict of interest|blatantly biased towards the left or even come from fellow Marxists. Most egregiously, at least one widely cited source comes from the Frankfurt School itself]].

Perhaps the most common method of ‘rebuttal’ is to accuse those who acknowledge Cultural Marxism’s existence of being anti-semetic. This arises from the tendency of a small minority on the far right to highlight the fact that many of the Frankfurt School’s members were Jewish. The issue with the Frankfurt School is that they are [[Marxists]]; their race, religion, or ethnicity is irrelevant. The overwhelming majority of those who know Cultural Marxism exists share this view, and furthermore don’t rely on finding out if the people responsible for creating and spreading it were Jews either. Indeed, Cultural Marxism’s existence doesn’t rely on any connection to Jewish conspiracy theories.  

Perhaps the most common method of ‘rebuttal’ is to accuse those who acknowledge Cultural Marxism's existence of being anti-semetic. This arises from the tendency of a small minority on the far right to highlight the fact that many of the Frankfurt School's members were Jewish. The issue with the Frankfurt School is that they are [[Marxists]]; their race, religion, or ethnicity is irrelevant. The overwhelming majority of those who know Cultural Marxism exists share this view, and furthermore don't rely on finding out if the people responsible for creating and spreading it were Jews either. Indeed, Cultural Marxism's existence doesn't rely on any connection to Jewish conspiracy theories.  

Other common ‘rebuttals’ include downplaying the impact of the Frankfurt Schools’ ideology on the world, in spite of the fact that [[LGBT|its]] [[BLM|modern-day]] [[Biden regime|adherents]] have unprecedented power and the ideology can be found in the West’s most powerful institutions. There’s also accusations of equating the push for equality and civil rights with a ‘nefarious plot’. Communists have always sought to subvert and co-opt civil rights movements for their own ends, but the fact remains that civil rights and communism are inherently anathema. MLK, the leader of the civil rights movement in the ‘60s, also denounced communism. Cultural Marxism has never truly advocated for civil rights and equality beyond equal outcomes (which they call ‘equity’), the acquisition of which involves severe civil rights violations.

Other common ‘rebuttals’ include downplaying the impact of the Frankfurt Schools’ ideology on the world, in spite of the fact that [[LGBT|its]] [[BLM|modern-day]] [[Biden regime|adherents]] have unprecedented power and the ideology can be found in the West's most powerful institutions. There's also accusations of equating the push for equality and civil rights with a ‘nefarious plot’. Communists have always sought to subvert and co-opt civil rights movements for their own ends, but the fact remains that civil rights and communism are inherently anathema. MLK, the leader of the civil rights movement in the ‘60s, also denounced communism. Cultural Marxism has never truly advocated for civil rights and equality beyond equal outcomes (which they call ‘equity’), the acquisition of which involves severe civil rights violations.

==See also==

==See also==

*Duke, Selwyn (July 18, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/32884-the-left-is-following-communism-s-playbook-for-revolution The Left Is Following Communism’s Playbook for Revolution]. ''The New American''.

*Duke, Selwyn (July 18, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/32884-the-left-is-following-communism-s-playbook-for-revolution The Left Is Following Communism’s Playbook for Revolution]. ''The New American''.

*[https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/item/33182-behind-the-deep-state-alex-newman-fake-fall-of-communism The Fake Fall of Communism - Behind the Deep State], ''The New American''.

*[https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/item/33182-behind-the-deep-state-alex-newman-fake-fall-of-communism The Fake Fall of Communism - Behind the Deep State], ''The New American''.

*[https://youtu.be/PPRjsumWt7w Antonio Gramsci & Cultural Marxism], [[John Birch Society]], Feb 1, 2021. youtube

*[https://youtu.be/PPRjsumWt7w Antonio Gramsci & Cultural Marxism], [[John Birch Society]], Feb 1, 2021. YouTube

[[Category:Neo-Marxism|*]]

[[Category:Neo-Marxism|*]]