America is under attack. I do not mean a foreign battle in a foreign land; I am speaking of a battle that has imbedded itself into every facet of American society and culture beginning in the 1960s. Most Americans are not even aware of this attack due to the enemy’s cunning strategy and stealth. In fact, Americans have invited the enemy willingly into our government, institutions, corporations, and even our very homes, all while the enemy actively works to destroy the country that allows the freedom and flourishing we all enjoy.
How could we let this happen? It’s simple: the process of erosion is much harder to spot than an explosion—the enemy has learned this. Yet in the past few years the enemy has acted with more force, essentially showing us their cards, and perhaps even overplaying their hand.
I am speaking of the “NextGen Marxists” as described in Contributor Mike Gonzalez and Katharine Cornell Gorka’s book NextGen Marxism: What It Is and How to Combat It (2024). These Marxists are just like the old Soviet Marxists with the same end goal but with a fresh and effective strategy. The authors of this book do a breathtaking job of explaining this; from giving us a comprehensive history on the origins of Marxism to the very alive and active Marxist agenda in America today, the reader receives a thorough explanation of what’s really behind the culture wars we are currently facing as a nation.
The book covers many decades, political movements, and influential figures—all necessary to effectively connect the dots. While those who have studied the evolution of Marxist thought will find much of this information a refresher, those completely unfamiliar with the concept of Marxism might find it overwhelming. Personally, I found myself somewhere in the middle, understanding the ideology but lacking much of the detailed historical context. Both Gonzalez and Gorka helped fill in the gaps.
Here are some (extremely simplified) takeaways on Marxist strategies and “stealth socialism” every American should know.
Hegemony and the War of Maneuvers vs. Positions
When Marx and Engels published the Manifesto of the Communist Party in 1848, they believed that the oppressed working class (proletariat) would eventually revolt against the oppressive wealthy (bourgeoisie) and cause a revolution that would destroy capitalism and replace it with a new state of communal ownership. While this revolution never quite happened like Marx and Engels predicted, the Bolshevik terrorists decided to promote this ideology through violent force during the Russian Revolution of 1917. Other countries soon followed their example: Mao in China, Castro in Cuba, and so forth. However, the praxis of Marxism could only extend so far—when tried in industrialized countries with strong civil institutions such as Germany and Italy, their revolutions failed before they even began. This led Gramsci to develop two foundational concepts that drive NextGen Marxists today as found in his Prison Notebooks: the theory of “hegemony” and the “war of maneuvers” versus “war of positions.”
The theory of hegemony “means that the wealthy and powerful, in their pursuit of maintaining their money and power, no longer have to use force or threaten it to coerce the proletariat, the peasants, and so on into doing their bidding. This subordinate class has imbibed the cultural ideas of the ruling class—its egemonia culturale, its cultural hegemony, that is, its love of the family, God, native soil—and collaborates in its own oppression. Thus a conceptual superstructure, the way of all society is interpreted, keeps man down” (page 63).
In other words, hegemony is the idea that the oppressor’s dominant narrative must be dismantled and rejected by the oppressed to have a successful revolution. People in industrialized countries who reap the benefits of capitalism won’t quickly give up their private property, therefore “there was a need for painstaking indoctrination of the people years, perhaps decades, before complete transformation was attempted” in order to attain a “revolutionary consciousness” (page 57). And what exactly is this oppressive superstructure or worldview that needs to be subverted? Just about everything that the West currently enjoys, values, and stands for. The undoing of this worldview and establishing a new communist state would take much work.
Here enters the “war of maneuvers” versus the “war of positions.” While countries like Russia with a weak civil society could experience a violent overthrow or war of maneuver, subversion of the West would need a war of position: “one during which revolutionaries would infiltrate the institutions, indoctrinate members of the revolutionary bloc, and slowly undermine the hegemonic narrative” (page 67). This strategy is what has been infamously known as the “Long March through the Institutions.” To summarize, NextGen Marxists needed to be patient, strategic, and willing to play the long game by revolutionizing America from the inside out.
This brings us to America today. While many believe that Marxism died along with the dissolvement of the Soviet Union in 1991, trained Marxists have been working behind the scenes to push their agenda steadily along. With the help of the Frankfurt School and Marxist leaders such as Gramsci, Mills, Marcuse, Alinsky and others, the “New Left” has moved the struggle focus from class to immutable characteristics such as race in order to create a culture of grievances—one in which every person must identify as either oppressed or oppressor. This has given rise to a number of today’s issues that seem to have sprung out of thin air: critical race theory, identity politics, radical gender and sexuality indoctrination, etc. But do not be deceived: each one of these issues come directly out of the Marxist playbook. They are not reactionary responses to our time—they are calculated efforts of opportunity.
Marxist Example: BLM
Take for example as social justice movement that gripped America in 2020: Black Lives Matter. Many Americans—I believe in good faith—were using the hashtag and sympathizing with the movement in response to the death of George Floyd. What many people didn’t realize, however, is that the organization was established years before by co-founders Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi-Black in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer and subsequent racial incidents in the years that followed. What conscientious Americans quickly noticed about these founders and their organization is that they are open about their Marxist ideals and goal to destroy America (apparently a little too open; their desire to subvert the nuclear family proved too “on the nose” to remain on their official website) with Garza publicly stating in 2015, “It’s not possible for a world to emerge where black lives matter if it’s under capitalism. And it’s not possible to abolish capitalism without a struggle against national oppression and gender oppression” (page 220). As Gonzalez and Gorka make clear through their research on BLM and other social justice movements, the issue (in this case, black lives) is always but a means towards an end: complete revolution. A quote used by former radical Marxist, now dedicated anti-Marxist David Horowitz states, “The issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution” and goes on to explain that “the cause—whether inner city blacks or women—is never the real cause, but only an occasion to advance the real cause which is the accumulation of power to make the revolution” (page 14-15).
What this should clearly demonstrate to Americans is that the social justice issues we are seeing today are not isolated incidents—they are movements of opportunity. The goal of Marxism has always been to undermine the family, private property, and religion in order to replace these institutions with an all-encompassing communist state. Professing Marxists and their sympathizers are advancing this goal by taking advantage of America’s empathy through CRT, DEI, and LGTBQ+ efforts. I say that many Americans supported BLM in good faith because I truly believe that they did not realize they were inadvertently supporting a Marxist agenda. However, Americans have now had a few years to let the dust settle, and as NextGen Marxism makes abundantly clear: we are without excuse. The enemy is gaining ground in every facet of Western society and it’s time for Americans to fight for their country if we want to keep it.
What to Do?
I stated earlier that Marxists have overplayed their hand. This is in reference to the parent movements, particularly in Loudon County, who drew the line at the sexualization and physical safety of their children. While America might be slowly “ripening for a revolution,” we are not quite there yet—our love of family and liberty runs deeps.
NextGen Marxism primarily looks at the cause behind the current problem we face, but what I believe sets it apart is its longest and final chapter infused with optimism. Both Gonzalez and Gorka believe that Americans have what it takes to restore America to its very best if we learn how to fight back. This looks like, in part, learning from Marxists themselves who excel in organization and cultural infusion, and bravely using their effective tactics against them.
The final chapter, entitled “What to Do” gives us “Ten Tactics for Patriots” for practical application:
- Expose: the destructive lies and efforts perpetrated by the New Left
- Network: with other individuals and organizations for moral support
- Follow the Money: and show how the New Left is being funded by a wealthy and politically motivated few—not through organic grassroots methods
- Live Within the Truth: and refuse to be silent on truth issues, no matter the cost
- Vote with Your Wallet: and boycott companies that push a Marxist agenda
- Engage: in civil and political life
- Show Up: and be present where the action is happening
- Play the Long Game: and patiently remember that progress comes in small, incremental steps
- Focus Internationally, Nationally, and Locally: this looks like organizing globally and advocating federally but also acting locally in the community through local elections and school board meetings
- Reclaim the Culture: by building a new ecosystem for cultural content and entertainment
Gonzalez and Gorka expand on these tactics in the book, leaving the reader with conviction and confidence on what to do next. For some, this might simply look like keeping up the good fight. For others, it might mean taking the first step towards truly being countercultural.
Conclusion
In recent times, cultural Marxism is often dismissed as the bogeyman behind anything conservatives fear.
But make no mistake: the cultural Marxism we are seeing today is not Marxism “lite.” In many ways, it is a much more insidious ideology that has been implemented by openly Marxist leaders in order to change the fabric of our Western society. The goal has and always will be to revolutionize the world, and it begins with Marxists taking down its most successful opponent: the United States. If we truly love our country, we must not be complicit in this.
NextGen Marxism educates the reader on one of the greatest threats to our civil society. This is why we interviewed Contributor Mike Gonzalez last year in order to for him to explain what exactly Praxis Circle is both fighting against and fighting for. We have provided the entire interview below, which is a wonderful intro into many of the topics covered in NextGen Marxism. We hope this post inspires you to purchase the book and get the comprehensive history and strategy of Marxist ideology. Only when we understand its origin, goals, and tactics can we confidently identify it in our culture and fight against it in truth.
