America's Cultural Revolution

1. The Cultural Revolution's Roots: From 1960s Radicalism to Today's Institutions

The campaign to embed critical race theory in American life was only one facet of the radical Left’s “long march through the institutions,” which had begun fifty years ago.

Seeds of Change. The book traces the origins of America's cultural revolution to the student radical movement of the 1960s, highlighting how left-wing intellectuals developed a new theory of revolution in the West. This revolution, initially self-destructive in the Third World, found a new home in America, patiently building itself in the shadows before exploding onto the scene after George Floyd's death in 2020.

A New Battleground. The focus shifted from physical uprisings to a "long march through the institutions," infiltrating universities, schools, newsrooms, and bureaucracies. This strategy involved developing intricate theories around culture, race, and identity, silently embedding them into America's knowledge-making institutions.

The Endgame. The descendants of the New Left have completed their long march, installing their ideas into school curricula, popular media, government policy, and corporate human resources programs. The core principles, once found in radical pamphlets, have been sanitized and adapted into the official ideology of America's elite institutions.

2. Herbert Marcuse: The Philosopher of "Liberating Tolerance" and the New Left

Marcuse’s “critical theory,” which he wryly called “the power of negative thinking,” has steadily devoured America’s institutions, becoming the dominant mode of thought for the new elite.

The Father of the New Left. Herbert Marcuse, a philosopher of the New Left, advocated for a total revolution against Western society, influencing student movements and radical groups. His ideas provided the rationale and methods for revolution in the West, emphasizing the need to dismantle existing societal norms and values.

Key Strategies. Marcuse's strategies included the revolt of the affluent white intelligentsia, the radicalization of the black "ghetto population," the capture of public institutions, and the cultural repression of the opposition. These objectives have been realized to varying degrees, leading to a "transvaluation of all prevailing values."

The Power of Negative Thinking. Marcuse's "critical theory" has become the dominant mode of thought for the new elite, with young radicals bringing their revolution inside institutions. This revolution seeks to liberate society from capitalist repression, unleashing a pure freedom beyond necessity, exploitation, and violence.

3. The New Left's Violent Turn: From Protest to Terrorism

The young radicals were restless and soon pushed Marcuse to go further.

From Theory to Action. As the 1960s drew to a close, the New Left embraced armed revolution, leading to the formation of groups like the Weather Underground, the Black Liberation Army, and the Red Army Faction. These groups, influenced by Marcuse's theories, engaged in bombings, robberies, and assassinations.

The Weathermen. The Weather Underground, led by figures like Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers, declared war against the United States, engaging in bombings and other acts of violence. Their manifesto, Prairie Fire, called for radical teachers to form an "anti-racist white movement" and radicalize the education system.

The Downfall. The New Left's wave of violence alienated the public and led to a forceful response from the government. By the mid-1970s, the movement had largely disintegrated, with many radicals retreating to academia.

4. The Long March Through the Institutions: A Stealth Revolution

Marcuse encouraged the student radicals to put down their arms and burrow themselves in the universities, schools, media, and social services, capturing the means of knowledge production in order to subvert them.

A Strategic Retreat. Following the failure of armed revolution, Marcuse advocated for a "long march through the institutions," urging radicals to infiltrate universities, schools, media, and bureaucracies. The goal was to change these institutions from within, subverting traditional culture and values.

Building Counter-Institutions. Marcuse encouraged the creation of "counter-institutions" such as radical caucuses, counter-meetings, and alternative media outlets. These would serve as a new apparatus for social change, breaking the establishment's information monopoly.

The Transformation of Academia. Over time, New Left radicals gained professorships at prestigious universities, transforming the academic landscape. They used their positions to promote critical theories, delegitimize traditional knowledge, and recruit cohorts of graduate students.

5. The New Ideological Regime: Critical Theories in Power

The new regime is a synthesis of Marcuse’s critical theory, which he supported, and one-dimensional society, which he opposed.

A Revolution from Above. The long march through the institutions has resulted in a new ideological regime, composed of the university, the media, the state, and the corporation. This regime is characterized by revolution from above, in the abstract, and of information, rather than production.

The Vital Center. The university, the media, the state, and the corporation have converged around critical theories, transmitting them through the public bureaucracy and enforcing a new orthodoxy. This regime functions through myths, beliefs, and incentives, rather than central leadership.

The Goal. The new elites participate in this governing system through osmosis, absorbing the concepts and vocabulary created by the critical theories, then transmitting them through the management of the institutions. The ultimate goal is to replace individual rights with group-identity-based rights, enact race-based wealth redistribution, and suppress speech.

6. Angela Davis: From Revolutionary Icon to Academic Influence

Davis, however, followed the propaganda line: sacrificing the human being in service of ideology.

A Symbol of Revolution. Angela Davis, a student of Herbert Marcuse, became an icon of left-wing revolution, embodying the spirit of sacrificing the human being in service of ideology. Her involvement in a murder-kidnapping plot led to her arrest and trial, further solidifying her status as a political prisoner.

The Synthesis of Theory and Action. Davis combined her academic studies with black nationalist activism, articulating a vision of total revolution that would overturn the economic structure and political apparatus of American society. She saw violence as a necessary step in the revolutionary process.

From Prison to Academia. Following her acquittal, Davis embarked on a worldwide tour, promoting her ideology and criticizing American society. She eventually retreated to academia, where she continued to influence generations of students and activists.

7. Black Liberation Ideology: From Street Militancy to Academic Orthodoxy

The way forward was not through the messy politics of revolutionary action, but through the manipulation of symbols and ideas.

The Weathermen's Legacy. The Weathermen's Prairie Fire manifesto, though initially unsuccessful, established a precedent for manipulating symbols and ideas. The language of the manifesto, including terms like "institutionalized racism" and "white privilege," would eventually become the vocabulary of American intellectual life.

The Rise of Black Studies. The New Left radicals, including former Weathermen, found a welcome home in academia, establishing black studies programs and other disciplines that promoted critical theories. These programs transformed the university into a "counter-institution" driven by left-wing ideology.

The New Orthodoxy. The critical theories have become a substitute morality, dividing society into a crude moral binary of "racist" and "anti-racist." This new orthodoxy is enforced through departments of "diversity, equity, and inclusion" across public and private bureaucracies.

8. Black Lives Matter: The Reincarnation of Revolution

The new movement was not the “‘classical’ revolutionary force” of the proletariat.

A New Generation of Activism. The Black Lives Matter movement represents a reincarnation of the black liberation movement, adopting its rhetoric, ambitions, and ideology. Figures like Angela Davis have served as mentors to BLM leaders, passing on the torch of revolution.

A Synthesis of Ideologies. BLM combines the critical theory of society with the identity politics of the New Left, creating a hybrid ideology that has captured elite institutions. The movement's core principles, first formulated in the radical pamphlets of the Weather Underground and the Black Liberation Army, have been sanitized and adapted into the official ideology of America's elite institutions.

The Goal: Total Rupture. The activists of the radical Left want to replace individual rights with group-identity-based rights, enact race-based wealth redistribution, and suppress speech based on a new racial and political calculus. They seek a "total rupture" with the existing order.

9. The Peril of Unchecked Ideology: The Case of Portland's Child Soldiers

The world seemed poised for the “total rupture”—and Marcuse, abandoning any pretense of scholarly caution or detachment, gave permission for the “new barbarians” of the West to unleash havoc in the streets and in the halls of power.

Portland as a Microcosm. Portland, Oregon, has become a hub for left-wing radical movements, with activists engaging in violence, looting, and arson. The city's public schools have adopted critical pedagogy, training students to see the world through a lens of oppression and revolution.

A School-to-Radicalism Pipeline. The schools of Portland have self-consciously adopted Paulo Freire’s “pedagogy of the oppressed” as their theoretical orientation, activated it through a curriculum saturated in critical theory, and enforced it through the appointment of de facto political officers within individual schools under the cover of “equity and social justice.”

The Consequences. The result is a "school-to-radicalism pipeline," with students becoming "child soldiers" for the revolution. These young radicals, indoctrinated with a narrative of American evil, engage in political violence and seek to dismantle the existing social order.

10. The Counter-Revolution: Reclaiming Truth, Values, and the Constitutional Order

The task for the counter-revolutionary is not simply to halt the movement of his adversaries but to resurrect the system of values, symbols, myths, and principles that constituted the essence of the old regime, to reestablish the continuity between past, present, and future, and to make the eternal principles of freedom and equality meaningful again to the common citizen.

Seeing the Crisis Clearly. The enemies of the cultural revolution must begin by seeing the critical theories and the "long march through the institutions" with clear eyes. They must help the common citizen understand what is happening around him and mobilize public sentiment against the ideologies, laws, and institutions that seek to make the cultural revolution a permanent feature of American life.

Resurrecting the Old Regime. The task for the counter-revolutionary is not simply to halt the movement of his adversaries but to resurrect the system of values, symbols, myths, and principles that constituted the essence of the old regime, to reestablish the continuity between past, present, and future, and to make the eternal principles of freedom and equality meaningful again to the common citizen.

A Vision of America. The counter-revolution is already forming and staking out the territory for the fight ahead. The question now is which vision of America will prevail and which vision will return into the void. The simple fact is that society under the critical theories does not work. The revolution is not a path to liberation; it is an iron cage.

Last updated: April 10, 2025