A Review of American Marxism. By Mark Levin.
Threshold Editions, 2021.
Mark Levin’s new book is a must read:
Those familiar with Mark Levin in particular and the culture wars in general will find much that is familiar here. Indeed, earlier books such as his 2009 Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto; his 2012 Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America; and his 2019 Unfreedom of the Press are well-known volumes found in any decent conservative library.
Here Levin offers us what has already become another bestseller. Anyone even remotely aware of the key tenets and components of classical Marxism can see that this ideology is alive and well and being steadily implemented in America. Levin tells us in great detail how this is occurring, just how pervasive it is, and what we can do to turn things around.
Even though his focus is primarily on the situation in America, what is found here is fully relevant to the rest of the western world. Levin reminds us that the fall of the Berlin Wall did not bring Marxism to a screeching halt – it simply morphed into new forms and formats throughout the West. We have different names, but the same beast:
In America, many Marxists cloak themselves in phrases like “progressives,” “Democratic Socialists,” “social activists,” “community activists,” etc., as most Americans remain openly hostile to the name Marxism. They operate under myriad newly minted organizational or identifying nomenclatures, such as “Black Lives Matter” (BLM), “Antifa,” “The Squad,” etc. And they claim to promote “economic justice,” “environmental justice,” “racial equity,” “gender equity,” etc. They have invented new theories, like Critical Race Theory, and phrases and terminologies, linked to or fit into a Marxist construct.
It is imperative that we do not allow the new terminology to deceive us. Nor should we be ignorant of just how ubiquitous this dangerous movement is. Says Levin: “Whatever their labels and self-descriptions, the essential characteristics of their beliefs, statements, and policies exhibit core Marxist dogma. Moreover, they occupy our colleges and universities, newsrooms and social media, boardrooms, and entertainment, and their ideas are prominent within the Democratic Party, the Oval Office, and the halls of Congress.”
Even though Marx managed to get just about everything wrong, we still have millions of Marxists or wanna-be Marxists clinging to his failed theories, prediction, and analyses. Never satisfied with the world we actually live in, they prefer and pine for some heaven on earth scenario which of course will never be realised:
What then is the appeal of Marxism? American Marxism has adapted the language and allure of utopianism, which I wrote about at length in my book Ameritopia. It is “tyranny disguised as a desirable, workable, and even paradisiacal governing ideology. There are…unlimited utopian constructs, for the mind is capable of infinite fantasies. But there are common themes. The fantasies take the form of grand social plans or experiments, the impracticability and impossibility of which, in small ways and large, lead to the individual’s subjugation.
In this book Levin examines numerous political agitators including Marcuse, Dewey, Alinsky, Piven and Cloward. He shows how very effective they and others have been in implementing their goals. He demonstrates how they have sought to exploit any crisis – real or imagined – for their own revolutionary ends.
Generating economic, political and cultural upheaval is always a major part of the radicals’ strategy, and a key means of bringing about the revolution. Levin speaks to the Covid crisis as well in this regard:
When economic conditions have weakened, causing social conditions to do the same, the political system is said to be ripe for transformation. . . . Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic and the shutting down of our economy, schools, and social activities, and the collective economic and psychological effects on our society, created an environment ripe for exploitation. And that exploitation has occurred both in the halls of power, with far-reaching legislative and executive actions, and in the streets, where organized violence is becoming all too common.
The classroom has especially become the breeding ground for radical ideology and revolutionary action. As Levin says:
America’s college and university faculties have turned their classrooms into breeding grounds for resistance, rebellion, and revolution against American society, as well as receptors for Marxist or Marxist-like indoctrination and propaganda. Academic freedom exists first and foremost for the militant professors, and the competition of ideas is mostly a quaint concept of what higher education used to be and should be. But Marxism is not about free speech and debate, it is about domination, repression, indoctrination, conformity, and compliance.
And consider the issue of Critical Theory, which Levin spends a fair amount of time discussing. It has managed to worm its way into most aspects of our culture.
As should be clear, the Critical Theory movement, born and developed by German Marxists, chief among them the late Herbert Marcuse, is more influential in the Oval Office, the halls of Congress, university and college classrooms, public schools, corporate boardrooms, the media, Big Tech, and the entertainment industry than the genius and works of Aristotle, Cicero, John Locke, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and so many others who contributed mightily to a civil and humane world. It is increasingly influential throughout the culture, too often at the cost of Judeo-Christian values and the lessons of the Age of the Enlightenment, which undergird the most tolerant, free, and beneficent societies—especially the United States. Instead, the intersectional network of a seemingly endless list of oppressed individuals and groups are obsessively committed to transforming and overthrowing the American republic and society—that is, the dominant culture and its supposedly repressive institutions—and are tearing this country apart.
In well-documented chapters Levin offers plenty of eye-opening detail as he analyses and exposes the massive inroads of Marxist ideology in all the major American institutions. It can make for discouraging reading. But he finishes his book with an encouraging chapter entitled, “We Choose Liberty!” And part of the way forward is to look backward:
We must take solace and find strength in the sacrifice and bravery of our early revolutionaries—Joseph Warren, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Thomas Paine, to Revere, and Thomas Paine, to name a few; and become energized and inspirited by the wisdom and genius of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and many others. While they have been smeared and degraded by American Marxists and their ilk, we must continue to celebrate them, be invigorated by them, and remember that together they defeated the most powerful military force on earth and founded the greatest and most extraordinary nation in the history of mankind.
And ever since then, “one generation after another has been willing to sacrifice everything, and so many have paid the ultimate price, in defense of this magnificent country and its founding principles from foreign enemies.” He looks at how we can deal with the situations found in education, law enforcement, corporations, climate activism, and so on. And we can also use some of the tactics of the left, including BDS:
BOYCOTTS involve withdrawing support for corporate media, Big Tech, other corporations, Hollywood, sporting, cultural, and academic institutions engaged in promoting American Marxism and its various movements.
DIVESTMENT campaigns pressure banks, corporations, local and state governments, religious institutions, pension funds, etc. to withdraw investments in and support for the various Marxist movements.
SANCTIONS campaigns pressure local and state governments to end taxpayer subsidies and other forms of support for institutions with ties to various Marxist movements and policies; and ban the teaching and indoctrination of Critical Race Theory (CRT), Critical Gender Theory, etc., from taxpayer-financed public schools.
He looks in more detail at various strategies and options for American patriots, and finishes his book with these words
General George S. Patton reportedly said: “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” Thus, at this point, I have provided some concrete ideas and suggestions on how to proceed, but by no means is this an exhaustive list of possible actions or action areas. In the end, it is up to you to decide how best to help actively save our republic and what role you will choose. That said, Patton also reportedly declared: “No good decision was ever made in a swivel chair.”
Quite right. We certainly need a rallying cry like this. Please grab a copy of this book and get a few more to pass on to others. Things are indeed precarious today in the West. This volume explains why that is, and points us in the right direction to turn things around.
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https://youtu.be/V2YZAnKeGmM
Hi Bill,
Please Watch this one if you haven’t received it.
Dr rei ner report sep 2021. Wow.
cheers
Hi Bill again!
I appreciated greatly your ability to read, digest the contents and articulate so many books in such away that many of your readers can understand.
I’m quite busy doing what I know is the Lord’s work, and after morning devotions, my bible readings and spending most nights praying again, listening to and seeking what I believe to be the direction of the still small voice of the Lord,,, I may read maybe 1 book per month.
These are books that inspire me and joined with your daily articles I feel me, and my family are so blessed by God, even in these very, very difficult times.
I do know that God will never leave us or forsake us due to His faithfullnes and His mercies which are never ending.
Thanks again Bill for your God given ministry.
Terry, New Gisborne
Many thanks Terry. Bless you.