Liberalism has been Swallowed Whole by ‘Woke Progressivism’
We are in the midst of a radical transformation on the American political left
Modern American Liberalism is dead. It has been devoured from within by illiberal, far-left Progressivism or what some might refer to as ‘woke Progressivism’. In reality, it is a variation of neo-Marxism. This illiberal Progressivism has supplanted Liberalism as the new hegemonic order on the American political left and essentially the global political Left. This nascent political regime has no interest in working within the system, but every intention of burning it down. Woke Progressivism is the hideous monster that has escaped from the basement and has killed its master. It is the gross perversion of Liberalism. For the radical progressive, even systemic structural change isn’t adequate. Since it is a Marxist movement, the entire structure must be eradicated. This demolition includes the rewriting of history, the bending of language, the destruction of the family, a disregard for science, an attack on comedy and dismantling constitutional government. This viral infection of woke culture forbids dissent and thus its ultimate goal, at least in the United States, is to literally shred the Constitution. For the radical Progressive, ‘free speech’ and individual liberties are enemies that must be defeated. The underwriters of this movement cleverly understand that in oder to destroy the current system, they must first silence all discourse that opposes the ‘narrative’. The game they are playing is unnervingly obvious.
Liberalism, despite at times bordering on radicalism, has always tethered itself to at least a sliver of rationalism. While liberals have often played the role of the bleeding heart and have remained hyper-critical of conservatism, liberals and conservatives could at least agree on two ideas which are fundamental to not only to the fabric of American society, but essential to contemporary Western civilization. Those being an aherhence to personal responsibility and constitutional government. It is constitutional government in modern, Democratic society which grants certain rights or liberties to the individual. Liberalism never sought to overthrow the system, but to work within it. There were times in which Liberalism went to too far in chastising the political Right, but Liberalism never abandoned individualism nor constitutionalism. The structure for both the American political Right and the Left has always remained the same and at the heart of that structure are the tentents of American democracy, such freedom of speech, freedom of association and private property. The major difference is that Liberalism, while remaining subscribed to the overall structure, has always sought to make the system more equal through large-scale government intervention.
During the traditional dichotomy of liberalism versus conservativism, It was always liberalism that rightly elucidated the inherit injustices within the American system. Some of that injustice persists today, yet we have objectively made significant progress. Despite a Trump presidency, the reality is that American society of 2020 is more equal than it ever has been. But to be fair, injustice and inequality still burdens America and the atrocities of the past continue to haunt us. There remain entire neighborhoods within large urban areas engulfed in violence, crime, fatherless households, dysfunctionalism and poorly performing schools. Although there are impoverished Whites, there are a disportionate number of Black Americans living under such conditions. It should also be pointed out that there are also more Black Americans and people of color than ever that have reached the American middle class and beyond. The average household income for Black Americans is $60,000, well above the poverty line.
It is reasonable to argue that in some ways Libreralism has acheived a level of success in striving to meet its ideal goals, but it has also undermined itself through naitivity and intellectual laziness. That intelletual ineptitude has never been more apparent than during the past three years. The vast majority of liberals essentially feel asleep at the wheel while drunk on the narrative of “Orangeman bad”. Meanwhile, the ‘wicked stepchild’ of liberalism, also known as ‘woke Progressivism’, has pounced on this opportunity to seize the keys to the castle.
It should be pointed out that the radical Progressive movement in the United States didn’t simply manifest with the election of Trump. It’s genesis can be traced back to the radicalism of the late ‘60s. The reality is that the illiberalism and psuedo Marxism of the ‘60's never completely dissapeared. Instead, it went incognito in academia and was permitted to fester there for decades. Entrenched liberals were willing to turn a blind eye to its inimical nature because they either sympathized at least to some degree or it was considered to be an innocuous movement that would always remain on the ‘fringe’. Afterall, liberals have been busy ever since fighting evil Republicans and who’s to worry about a few Marxist professors? By the 1990s, those same Marxist professors in academia become a majority and had a mandate to indoctrinate America’s youth. In turn, those same indoctrinated and often privileged youth, upon finishing college, have been perpetually infiltrating the most integral institutions of American civil society in recent years, such as the media, all levels of government, public education and now even corporate board rooms.
Black swan historical events create opportunities to shake up the system. In the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown and the George Floyd Protests and riots, The radical Left has seized this moment to slay its older, yet modest and cautious brother, Libreralism. While liberals have stupidly poured all their energy into defeating Donald Trump, they’ve been inclined to either ignore or stubbornly refused to admit the bueorgoning illiberalism of the far-left and unfortunately, it’s likely too late to put the genie back in the bottle. While the more moderate Liberals have at times spoken out against ‘wokeness’ in recent years, the more entrenched liberals, either out of ignorance or lack of humility, have failed to recognize that the far left is not an ally, but a difficult to distinguish enemy. Consequently, what we are witnessing now is a ‘liberal purge’. For the woke Progressives, conservatives aren’t the real threat because conservatives are going to remain loyal to their own camp. Instead, it is liberalism that poses the greatest threat to the Far Left. Not suprisingly, we are now in the beginning stages of witnessing liberals being purged from vital insitutions, such as academia, the media, the educational system, local and state governments and even within the scientific community.
This argument might seem counterintuitive since one would assume that liberalism and the Progressive Left should form a natural alliance. After all, there is a fuzzy gray area between the two groups and some of the end goals are at least ostensibly the same. However, there are clear distinctions that must be thoroughly recognized. Liberalism is idealistic and often overly idealistic, but far-left Progressivism is entirely dogmatic and resembles something closer to a cult. It is truly ‘ the closing of the American Mind’. Liberalism seeks drastic change, but insists that change should happen within the system. In other words, we can strongly castigate American society and tweak the system in a way that fosters greater equality, but we still must abide by the Constitution. Woke Progressivism on the other hand, has no intention of operating within the system. Liberalism is fully committed to structural change, but still adheres to a ‘means’ that is within the norms of liberal, democratic society. Woke progressivism is committed to achieving its end goal, the slaying of America, by any means necessary. For the woke progressive, because America is an evil country and synonymous with White supremacy, he feels fully justified in achieving that end by fully embracing deception, censorship and violence. He has no values and is driven only by resentment and a deep-seated hatred for Western society.
Since the woke movement is really just a variation of neo-Marxism, its leaders fully understood that liberalism must be suffocated and left to wither because in order to tear down the system, we must do away with fundemental democratic concepts, such as freedom of speech, individualism and rationalism. While liberalism may appear as a friend to the far left, it is really just a hinderance. The woke progressive doesn’t view democracy as a tool for liberation, but as an enemy and an apparatus of colonialism, imperialism and White supremacy. Because the system must be eradicated, the woke progressive must argue that everything about the system is inheriently evil and rooted in racism, bigotry and misogamy. Since the end goal is to destroy the system, all facets that bind society together also must be corrupted and infected with the anti-humanism of neo-Marxism. This includes the family, the workplace, the media, open political discourse, individualism, private property, science and the Judeo-Christian ethos of Western civilization. We have and are likely to continue to witness the spread of this virus in the coming years.
We have low immunity from this this illiberal ideology becaused its operatives cleverly mask its true intentions under the guise of ‘social justice’. But the reality is that this has nothing to do with social justice and everything to do with power. From a purely immoral, strategic perspective, it is highly effective and sophisticated. This is an ideological enemy that cannot be easily defeated simply because it feeds on the decency of American society. In 2020, nobody in America, regardless of political orientation, wants to be labeled a racist, bigot, homophobe or sexist. Yet, if you dare to question the narrative publicly, you could be ‘cancelled’ and labeled a brutal racist or a disgusting bigot! These labels are no longer designated for conservatives, but even the most entrenched liberals are now fair game. If you are in a ‘diversity and inclusion’ or ‘anti-racism’ training at work, are you going to dare protest the absurdity of such a training even though almost everyone in the room is thinking the same as you are? It highly unlikely that you say anything. If that same ‘anti-racisim’ discussion morphs into a training on ‘non-binary’ issues in the workplace, are you going to chime in and proclaim, “this is a all bullshit!” Most of your colleagues will admire your bravery, but there is a good chance you will also lose your job. And if you are cancelled in the workplace, how will you pay the mortgage or take that summer vacation with the kids?
What is transpiring on the far political left can no longer be shrugged off as ‘fringe politics’. If it hasn’t already, it is quickly becoming mainstream. As a nation, society and culture, we are headed down a precarious path. And before you dismiss my arguments as Republican, right-wing rhetoric, think about it for a minute. Are these really just conservative talking points or actually arguments grounded in common sense? You might even despise Trump and the Republicans, which is understandable. But do you really believe that Trump poses a grave danger to American society when compared to the neo-Marxist revolution with Orwellian overtones that is literally sprouting roots at this moment? As an optimist, I believe there is still time for us as a society to reject this movement and return to a culture of rationalism. But this will not be an easy enemy to defeat and if we fail to take a stand against this egregious ideology immediately, we could find ourselves in a perilous situation even just a few years from now.
