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The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy:Why the Right Blames the Frankfurt School for the Decline of the West
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The definitive history of a dangerous right-wing conspiracy theory
“Cultural Marxism” is one of the far right’s favorite buzzwords. But despite its currency, the meaning and origins of the term are rarely investigated. This book uncovers the bizarre story of the cult leaders, right-wing intellectuals, and White House officials who believe a coterie of left-wing scholars and students is plotting to undermine Western civilization. Drawing on years of archival research and using the tools of critical theory, A.J.A. Woods reveals how a group of German thinkers known as the Frankfurt School was recast as the sinister orchestra-tors of a global conspiracy. Instead of simply debunking this conspiracy theory, Woods offers a sharp analysis and critique of the political movements that have declared war on all that passes for Cultural Marxism in the US, the UK, and Brazil.
Only when we understand the practices and weaknesses of those reactionaries committed to fighting this illusory threat—a conflict causing real-world damage—can we effectively resist. This is an essential book for anyone seeking to understand the ideological currents shaping politics in the twenty-first century.
Reviews
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In this brilliant work of cultural critique, A. J. A. Woods shows how the right borrowed the spectre of ‘Cultural Marxism' from the reactionary fringe of the New Left and converted it into the conspiratorial fever dream we know today. Woods’ chronicle of the “Cultural Marxism” fantasy also doubles as a deep theoretical inquiry into the role of suspicion and projection in cultural politics. Its lessons are troubling and urgent.
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A. J. A. Woods’s excellent The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy is a welcome addition to the literature on reactionary politics and sheds some much needed light on a conspiracy theory key to our current conjuncture.
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This is an unusually good book—both a forensic genealogy of an enduring meme and a reflection on the blunt incuriosity about the world that gives rise to such a destructive simplification in the first place.
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Few crackpot conspiracy theories have had the astonishing success of the radical right’s demonization of the Frankfurt School for deliberately undermining Western Civilization and spawning all the putative ills of “woke” culture today. By relentlessly tracking down its origins and untangling the connective web that abetted its international dissemination, A.J.A. Woods helps us understand how delusional thinking—Theodor Adorno was the fifth Beatle!!—can thrive in our increasingly gullible world.
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Cultural Marxism [...] who came up with this slur and how the hell did they attach it to the Frankfurt School? A.J.A. Woods has your answers...and so much more
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A deep and nuanced history. We have needed this book for a long time!
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The modern right has blamed the specter of Cultural Marxism for everything they dislike about contemporary society. At long last, Woods endows us with an authoritative account of how and why a group of seemingly obscure European philosophers—the Frankfurt School—became the central antagonists in the latest conservative account of how outside agitators have disturbed our otherwise orderly Western civilization. To understand the Cultural Marxism conspiracy is to understand the ideological makeup of the modern right.