2. The Defiance of Marxism
Turning now to focus upon the political challenge posed by the Woke, which takes the form of an updated Marxism, where instead of dominant and oppressed labour classes, there are dominant and oppressed social classes. This reappearance indicates that Marxism, or at least it’s essential resentment, is a part of the human condition with which every individual must contend.
Neo-Marxism posits that there is a part of society that oppresses the other part for their own benefit. That part of this oppressed class supports the status quo only because of false consciousness, that a revolutionary reconstitution of society is required, and the eventual disappearance of class antagonisms exists within the forthcoming utopia. We shall look at correcting this misrepresentation of reality elsewhere. First, we shall look at how Marxism has made it’s advance.
Liberalism is committed to freeing the individual from coercion by larger groups, including the state. Marxists however, endorse the use of coercion in pursuit of a reconstituted society. Here too, we need to differentiate between classical Liberals and modern liberals (lowercase). Liberals recognise, and often discover for themselves the reasons for the prevalence of various networks of win-win exchanges, which we shall call Institutions. On the other hand, liberals see many of these Institutions as archaic, irrational leftovers of an unenlightened culture seeking to escape the hardship of their existence with mere ritual, tradition and conformity.
Since the Enlightenment, Liberals have decreased in proportion to liberals, who in turn have ceded ground to Marxists. Same-sex marriage is a recent example of an Institution deformed again, as has occurred to it many times before, including by the legality and ease of divorce. Slowly, one by one, these Institutions are deformed, disappear or are taken over by Marxists and aimed toward their own ends. Not only has this happened to ancient Institutions like marriage, but also to more modern Institutions like the university. In their deformed state, universities not only indoctrinate students in Marxist ideology, but do so whilst imposing an external cost on others. That is, the students get their ‘education’ while we’re paying the cost of it, with a great many taxed against their conscience.
We have in recent years arrived at the point where Marxists have now turned upon their liberal allies, while many Liberals have realised that protecting Institutions simultaneously protects the individual, and shall henceforth be referred to as Conservatives. The undignified removal of liberal Brett Weinstein from Evergreen College illustrates my initial assertion. The individual remains Weinstein’s primary concern, whilst a reconstituted society is the primary concern of his Marxist students.
During this last US election cycle, liberals have increasingly been forced to choose between Conservatives and Marxists, and will overwhelmingly break with Conservatives in order to preserve their precious individualism. These liberals do not see Trump as the head of a Petersonian hierarchy, but as a compromise with the unenlightened but individualistic.
Conservatives generally understand that the absolute unity (of Truth) must act through the particular. That is, Truth acts primarily through persons. Hence, giving rise to a popular President and an associated liberal criticism of Conservatives for their ‘Trump worship’.
Conservatives now need to make a case for Institutions to liberals. This case needs to rid the liberal mind of their failed appeasement policies such as political correctness, which act only as a facade concealing and protecting corrupted institutions. Victor Davis Hansen brilliantly observed that many are still “clueless that Trump serves as some sort of sharp planer ripping off the thin, shiny mahogany veneer pasted over our particle-board establishment.”
The double impeachment of President Trump bears witness to the fact that Marxists have never accepted him as legitimate, even after his initial electoral victory. Conservative claims of election fraud — whether real or imagined — illustrate that a centuries long held recognition of mutual legitimacy has come to an end within Western culture.
No longer can Conservatives be satisfied by electoral victories, but must begin to restore Institutions to their former glory. We must restore the utility and effectiveness of Institutions at mediating and thus satisfying the desires of highly varied individuals. This is a highly meaningful task, and this case must be made by Conservatives to their own, whom we must challenge and give a purpose to fulfil.