One of the central themes in the texts of contemporary far right American and European writers that are compiled in Anders Breivik’s compendium “2083: A European Declaration of Independence” is the idea that cultural Marxists and multiculturalists are conspiring to destroy Western culture by promoting the immigration of Muslims. The persistent use of the expression “cultural Marxism” is a very effective tool employed by far right authors, because it evokes the deep-rooted historical fear of Marxism that still exists in the United States and in many parts of Europe. Following the collapse of communist states in Europe, far right thinkers may have found “cultural Marxism” to be a handy substitute adversary to mobilize popular support. The vagueness of the term “cultural Marxism” and by linking it to multiculturalism or feminism allows far right leaders to cast a wide net, potentially implying that all fellow citizens who support progressive-liberal values are somehow linked to a “Marxist” conspiracy. By further connecting such “cultural Marxists” to the idea of a Muslim enemy, far right thinkers tap into the historical European fear of Muslim or Ottoman invasions, and also accuse liberals of betraying their countries by colluding with the enemy.
These contemporary approaches of far right leaders in Europe and the United States remind us of two myths used by the Nazis to justify some of their horrific crimes. The Dolchstoßlegende (dagger thrust or stab-in-the-back myth) was propagated by German right wing extremists, nationalists, and the military during the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich to blame the World War I defeat on left-of-center political parties in Germany, such as the social democrats or communists, who had metaphorically stabbed their country in the back. The myth of a Judeo-Bolshevik conspiracy was also used by the Nazis to tap into the deep-rooted European anti-semitism and accused Jews of working with Russian Bolsheviks.
Below is a collection of blog posts, including Ecological Headstand, that have discussed the Breivik/Lind/Buchanan/LaRouche political-correctness conspiracy doctrine.
- US Intellectual History: Fun With Primary Sources: The Free Congress Foundation's "History of Political Correctness"
- The Broker: Breivik and the Gramscian legacy
- Max Blumenthal: Anders Behring Breivik, a perfect product of the Axis of Islamophobia
- Three Way Fight: Anders Breivik, Mainstream Islamophobia, and the Far Right
- Old Hickory's Weblog: "Cultural Marxism": a far-right conspiracy theory involving the Frankfurt School
- Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist: What do Alexander Cockburn and the Norwegian mass murderer have in common?
- Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist: Alexander Cockburn responds on Lind/Bleivik
Ecological Headstand:
- Forensic Fun with Footnotes: Calumny, Plagiarism, Murder (Patrick J. Buchanan's The Death of the West)
- "Cultural Conservatives": Prophets of Deceit
- What is Cultural Conservatism
- Martin Jay Spills Some Beans
- Confessions of a Cultural Marxist
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