Cultural Marxism
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About
Cultural Marxism is a conceptual term used to describe the idea that culture is a main driving force for inequality in the Western world. Since its coinage by American sociology professor Trent Schroyer in 1973, the term has grown into a popular conspiracy theory among far right wing political conservatives who assert that the normalization of political correctness in modern-day society is a Marxist plot collectively undertaken by influential liberals in academic, artistic and cultural spheres to undermine Western traditions and Christianity. Online the term is frequently used on political image and message boards such as 4chan's /pol/ board.
Origin
The term "cultural Marxism" is believed to have been coined by American sociology professor Trent Schroyer in his 1973 The Critique of Domination: The Origins and Development of Critical Theory, in which the author identifies the Frankfurt School's critical theory, a school of thought focusing on reflective assessment and cultural critique through application of social sciences, as the origin of a "culture industry" that imposes "socially unnecessary constraints of human freedom" and ultimately, the social domination of the individual.
“As advanced industrial societies developed, the individual was more integrated into and dependent upon the collectivity and less able to utilize society for active self-expression.”
In the following decades, Schroyer's critique of the Frankfurt School as the origin of postwar liberal agendas and destruction of individualism was further expounded upon by other mainstream academics, most notably Richard Weiner's Cultural Marxism and Political Sociology (1981) and Michael Minnicino's New Dark Age: Frankfurt School and 'Political Correctness' (1992).
Spread
However, during the late 1990s, the meaning behind "cultural Marxism" became increasingly diluted and detached from its original context as many right-wing and neoconservative commentators, such as William S. Lind and Pat Buchanan, began using the term as a catch-all for left-wing cultural criticism in their commentaries. During the first half of the 2000s, this trend continued to gradually spread across other conservative think tanks, most notably the Schiller Institute.[9] On YouTube the most viewed video about cultural Marxism has nearly 253,000 views as of August 2015 (shown below).
Tea Party Movement
By the late 2000s, the popularity of the concept among American conservatives had reached a new height with the emergence of the Tea Party Movement, prompting a resurgence of op-ed columns and essays explaining "cultural Marxism" from right-leaning news media outlets, including Free Republic[11], Free Congress Foundation, American Thinker[12], World Net Daily[13], America Free Press[22] and Fox News[23], which in turn led to a series of online discussions over the validity of the concept in the opposite camp, such as Southern Poverty Law Center, Democratic Underground and The Guardian.
Conspiracy Theories
As the debates dragged on, what originally began as a critique of the critical theory's influence on modern society spun off into a convoluted conspiracy theory asserting that the Frankfurt School, along with its legacies of the critical theory, was a Marxist plot to destroy the capitalist West from within by indoctrinating students to despise individualism and personal liberties in favor of political correctness and multiculturalism. The theory also attributes the critical theory as the culprit behind a wide range of progressivist milestone that were undertaken during the latter half of the 20th century, including the '60s counterculture, civil rights movement, anti-war movement and gender equality movement, among others. On the web, the theory continued to evolve through active discussions on politically conservative communities like Conservapedia and Metapedia, as well as right-wing extremist and political-satirical forums like Stormfront, Something Awful and 4chan's /pol/ board.
A Flowchart History of "Cultural Marxism" According to 4chan's /pol/
2083: A European Declaration of Independence
In July 2011, "cultural Marxism" saw another surge in online interest in the wake of deadly terrorist attacks in Norway single-handedly carried out by far-right radicalist Anders Behring Breivik, who declared Islam and multiculturalism as the enemy of the Western civilization in his manifesto 2083: A European Declaration of Independence that was electronically distributed to various news outlets shortly before the attacks.
"I have now sent an application for a Ruger Mini 14 semi-automatic rifle (5.56)… On the application form I stated: 'hunting deer'. It would have been tempting to just write the truth; 'executing category A and B cultural Marxists/multiculturalist traitors' just to see their reaction :P."
2014 Debate on Wikipedia
In 2014, a controversy erupted on Wikipedia after an entry on Cultural Marxism was deemed invalid and removed by the site's moderators, while the article's content was merged into the entry on the Frankfurt School in a subsection labeled "conspiracy theory."[8]
Search Interest
External References
[1] Marxist Internet Resource – Frankfurt school
[2] IEP – Frankfurt School
[3] Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Critical Theory
[4] Wikipedia – Frankfurt School
[5] The British Library – Manifesto of Communism
[6] Rational Wiki – Cultural Marxism
[7] Metapedia – Cultural Marxism
[8] William S. Lind – What is Cultural Marxism?
[9] Schiller Institute – The Frankfurt School and 'Political Correctness'
[10] Google Books – Culural Marxism and Political Sociology
[11] Free Republic – The Origins of Political Correctness
[12] American Thinker – Cultural Marxism
[13] WND Commentary – Who Stole Our Culture?
[14] Southern Poverty Law Center ‘Cultural Marxism’ Catching On
[15] Southern Poverty Law Center – Reframing the Enemy: 'Cultural Marxism', a Conspiracy Theory with an Anti-Semitic Twist, Is Being Pushed by Much of the American Right
[16] Critical Sociology – Collectivists, Communists, Labor Bosses, and Treason: The Tea Parties as Right-Wing Populist Counter-Subversion Panic
[17] Stormfront – What is Cultural Marxism?
[18] The Guardian – The BBC's cultural Marxism will trigger an American-style backlash
[19] View From the Right – CULTURAL MARXISM--OR LIBERALISM?
[20] Democratic Underground – 'Cultural Marxism,' a conspiracy theory being pushed by the right
[21] Fox News – Who Is Winning the Culture War?
[22] America Free Press – Cultural Communism: The Vivisection of America
[23] Cultural Marxism – The Decline of the Western Civilization
[24] CulturalMarxism.com – Main Page
[25] Facebook – Smash Cultural Marxism
[26] VK – Smash Cultural Marxism
[27] Archive.Is – Wikipedia on Cultural Marxism
[28] Reddit – /r/CulturalMarxism
[29] Reddit – Cultural Marxism According to Marxists
[30] Reddit – Wikipedia's Cultural Marxism article now redirects to an article called 'Frankfurt School conspiracy theory'
[31] Reddit – Does anyone have any of the Archived "Cultural Marxism" or "Frankfurt School" wiki's archived or links to good sources. All i'm seeing is SJW nonsense on wiki
[32] Reddit – Search Results for 'Cultural Marxism'
[33] The Guardian – Cultural Marxism': a uniting theory for rightwingers who love to play the victim
[34] Something Awful – So what's the deal with cultural marxism?
[35] The Conversation – Cultural Marxism and our current culture wars: Part 1
[36] The Conversation – Cultural Marxism and our current culture wars: Part 2
[37] Conservapedia – Cultural Marxism
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