Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory

"Cultural Marxism" redirects here. For the Marxist approach to social theory and cultural studies, see Marxist cultural analysis.

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"Cultural Marxism" refers to a far-right antisemitic conspiracy theory that misrepresents Western Marxism (especially the Frankfurt School) as being responsible for modern progressive movements, identity politics, and political correctness. The conspiracy theory posits that there is an ongoing and intentional academic and intellectual effort to subvert Western society via a planned culture war that undermines the supposed Christian values[note 1] of traditionalist conservatism and seeks to replace them with culturally liberal values.[1][2][3][4][5]

A contemporary revival of the Nazi propaganda term "Cultural Bolshevism", the contemporary version of the conspiracy theory originated in the United States during the 1990s.[6][1][7][note 2] Originally found only on the far-right political fringe, the term began to enter mainstream discourse in the 2010s and is now found globally.[7] The conspiracy theory of a Marxist culture war is promoted by right-wing politicians, fundamentalist religious leaders, political commentators in mainstream print and television media, and white supremacist terrorists,[8] and has been described as "a foundational element of the alt-right worldview".[9] Scholarly analysis of the conspiracy theory has concluded that it has no basis in fact.[7][5][10]


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  1. ^ a b Jay, Martin (Fall 2010). "Dialectic of Counter-Enlightenment: The Frankfurt School as Scapegoat of the Lunatic Fringe". Salmagundi. Vol. 168/169. pp. 30–40. ISSN 0036-3529. JSTOR 41638676. Archived from the original on November 24, 2011 – via cms.Skidmore.edu.
  2. ^ Jamin, Jérôme (2014). "Cultural Marxism and the Radical Right". In Shekhovtsov, Anton; Jackson, Paul (eds.). The Post-War Anglo-American Far Right: A Special Relationship of Hate. London, England: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 84–103. doi:10.1057/9781137396211.0009. ISBN 978-1-137-39619-8.
  3. ^ Richardson, John E. (2015). "'Cultural-Marxism' and the British National Party: A transnational discourse". In Copsey, Nigel; Richardson, John E. (eds.). Cultures of Post-War British Fascism. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-53937-7.[page needed]
  4. ^ Jeffries, Stuart (2016). Grand Hotel Abyss: The Lives of the Frankfurt School. London, England: Verso Books. pp. 6–11. ISBN 978-1-78478-568-0.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Braune 2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Woods 2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c Busbridge, Rachel; Moffitt, Benjamin; Thorburn, Joshua (June 2020). "Cultural Marxism: Far-Right Conspiracy Theory in Australia's Culture Wars". Social Identities. 26 (6). London, England: Taylor & Francis: 722–738. doi:10.1080/13504630.2020.1787822. ISSN 1350-4630. S2CID 225713131.
  8. ^ Mirrlees, Tanner (2018). "The Alt-right's Discourse on 'Cultural Marxism': A Political Instrument of Intersectional Hate". Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Social Justice. 39 (1): 49–69. ISSN 1715-0698. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  9. ^ Elley, Ben (2021). ""The rebirth of the West begins with you!"—Self-improvement as radicalisation on 4chan". Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. 8 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1057/s41599-021-00732-x. ISSN 2662-9992. S2CID 232164033.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jamin 2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).