The Foundation of Woke Madness

By Aaron Kliegman Marxists had a problem: The working classes were a constant disappointment, never revolting how they were supposed to. In fact, the capitalist West was spreading rather than imploding. Maybe the proletariat never got the memo. Or maybe workers decided they liked money — and not capping human potential. Whatever the reason, history proved Marx wrong. Therefore, those who sought the West’s decline had to look elsewhere: to culture, not economics. The result was cultural Marxism. Yes, bigots and conspiracists have employed the term in the past for nefarious — and antisemitic — purposes. But it’s historical fact that cultural Marxism has existed for decades as a legitimate but wicked intellectual program. More importantly, it provides the foundation of the progressive movements demanding what they call social justice today. In the 1930s, Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist, argued that the capitalist ruling class used mass culture to subjugate the masses. A revolution, he continued, must therefore be preceded by an attack on this cultural control — in other words, a culture war. In the 1960s and 1970s, the German émigré Herbert Marcuse, who was inspired by Marx, called for leaving the white working class alone to focus instead on radicalizing minorities. He also argued that tolerating “wrong” or “backward” beliefs — determined by whom, one might ask — is oppressive. “What is proclaimed and practiced as tolerance today, is in many of its most effective manifestations serving the cause of oppression,” he wrote, advocating “the systematic withdrawal of tolerance toward regressive and repressive opinions and movements.” Your opinions are fine, in other words, as long as they’re the right opinions. There is evidently a decades-long intellectual effort that lays the foundation of the woke madness we see today — from cancel culture to the riots in places like Portland. Instead of dividing society by class, cultural Marxists now seek to divide us by race, gender, sexual orientation, and similar characteristics. If this sounds like identity politics, that’s because it is. Minority groups are the new working classes, poised to overthrow their oppressors — above all straight white males. But what really matters still is the overarching oppressive structure, which remains the same: Western society. Like traditional Marxism, its woke, modern mutation claims to be universal — and has global aspirations. Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and Joseph Stalin all of course wanted communism to take over the world. They saw it as a worldwide phenomenon. Today’s cultural Marxists seek the same through intersectionality, the idea that all oppressed minorities are allied in a common struggle against their oppressors. Intersectionality is how Black Lives Matter (BLM), LGBTQ groups, and anti-Israel activists end up working together and supporting the same causes. It explains why BLM’s first official platform erroneously accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians and how “black trans lives matter” became a cause. It’s easy to see why writers and commentators call this cultural Marxist movement a mob, describing how so many people have succumbed to “mob rule.” But the mob would have far less influence without the support of key cultural institutions — due to either ideological affinity or cowardly submission. We all know the institutions by now: Sports (a newcomer), the media, Hollywood, academia, and corporate America. Academia sticks out not only as the original propagator of this madness but also for most insidiously indoctrinating the nation’s youth. More troubling, however, is how cultural Marxism has infiltrated our secondary schools. Indeed, two elementary schools near Seattle are teaching second graders that police are racist, targeting innocent black Americans, and covering up their crimes. The schools’ curricula also push other far-left causes for social justice. And Seattle is not alone. It seems Antifa and Black Lives Matter are getting their next generation of soldiers. Indeed, Gramsci, Marcuse, and others who paved the intellectual road for wokeness would be pleased. Marxists have in some ways succeeded with their “long march through the institutions,” a patient but nonetheless hostile takeover of the West’s cultural institutions. There’s just one problem: This extremism reviles most normal people. But a silent majority will lose culture wars to a vocal minority every time. Why? A vocal minority will keep pushing the parameters of what is acceptable until, before we know it, what was considered extreme yesterday will be mainstream tomorrow. Consider the Democratic Party. Not that long ago, most Democrats would have rejected the Green New Deal, late-term abortion, and socialized medicine without hesitation. Today, it’s almost heretical to do so. It’s worth noting here that Bernie Sanders was first elected to Congress in 1990. He only became a household name in 2015-2016. It’s time for the silent majority to find its voice and speak. Not just at the ballot box, but also in between elections in ordinary life. Regular people who don’t like radical politics need to reject what is clearly craziness rather than accept it in their own personal and professional lives. Otherwise, woke madness will continue — and undoubtedly trigger a backlash. Order Newt's Latest Book: https://www.gingrich360.com/trump-and-the-american-future

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