By Mason Mohon | @mohonofficial

Ron Paul recently sparked up a degree of controversy because of a Tweet condemning ‘Cultural Marxism’ and depicting various people groups in racist ways.

The imagery is indefensible, yet Ron Paul later removed the Tweet and issued a statement on the matter:

Earlier today a staff member inadvertently posted an offensive cartoon on my social media. I do not make my own social media posts and when I discovered the mistake it was immediately deleted.

-Ron Paul — Ron Paul (@RonPaul) July 2, 2018

It has drawn the attention of many news organizations, and quite a few have jumped on the opportunity to drag his name through the mud. For libertarians, it has raised the question as to whether or not ‘Cultural Marxism’ is a credible threat to liberty and one that should be opposed.

Specifically, an article from Reason has stated that “an attack on “cultural Marxism” isn’t compatible with a fight for liberty.”

The issue with this position is that is jumps from the proposition that some opponents of Cultural Marxism are ant-liberty to the conclusion that being anti-liberty is intergral to being against the doctrine of Cultural Marxism. This is a logical jump that could prove dangerous to a progressing liberty movement.

The author of the piece, Brian Doherty, is undoubtedly a respectable advocate for liberty and I hold no disdain towards Reason. In this instance, though, there has been a mistake in argument.

Ron Paul commented on Cultural Marxism in his linked Facebook post, describing how because of the atrocities resulting from Marxist economic doctrine, there was a shift in the aim of the proponents of such ideology. Instead of looking at society through the lens of Bourgeois versus Proleteriat, Cultural Marxists have decied to look at society through the lens of strait white cisgender male oppressor versus everyone who doesn’t fit that description.

If Cultural Marxists could *destroy the culture* of Capitalist nations, *then* they would try to use the opportunity to change the governments and economies to their Socialist utopia. If the people can’t think straight, perhaps then Socialism could be shackled onto them. Marxists just shifted their targets. Their original argument of workers being *exploited* by capitalists, didn’t sell. It’s obviously not the case. So Marxists just shifted their “exploitation” schtick to culture:

— women exploited by men

— gays exploited by heterosexuals

— The old exploited by the young — and vice-versa

— This list goes on and on.

Doherty commented on Ron’s statement:

Paul is correct that socialism in political and economic practice caused enormous human suffering of a sort its current proponents like to ignore. But what leads up to that conclusion in that barely-argued post has nothing to do with socialism. Indeed, raising a stink about these supposed depredations of “cultural Marxism” is in most contexts anti-liberty. Both legally and culturally, American and western culture absolutely have treated women and homosexuals unfairly and unjustly, both in law and in common cultural practice. Pointing that out and fighting it is in fact fighting for both political and personal liberty, not “Marxism.”

He later continued to say:

To the extent that law and culture treats women and gays more equally and is less tolerant of abuses of them, even private ones, that’s a better culture, one more in line with the benefits of civilization—benefits that arise, as Paul the presidential candidate understood, from a general spirit of tolerance and living and letting live as long as one’s life or justly held property isn’t encroached upon.

He is right in that a society that treats women, along with racial and sexual minorities, with more respect and grants them equal liberties to everyone else is a good one. That is and has been the libertarian message for many many years. The problem is that this is not the aim of the Cultural Marxists.

Cultural Marxism is the ideology of the modern progressive feminist movement, who would just as gladly see the capitalist system fall to shambles as they would the patriarchy. It is the Antifa movement that attacks those that they disagree with. It is the swaths of brainwashed college students refusing to enter intp intellecutal dialogue with people they disagree with, choosing to silence them (by force if necessary) instead.

Now this is where the exact wording of the article becomes very important. In the sub-headline, it is stated that “an attack on “cultural Marxism” isn’t compatible with a fight for liberty,” yet later in the article Doherty says “raising a stink about…”cultural Marxism” is in most contexts anti-liberty.” These are very different statement.

The second one I would agree with. Cultural Marxists are the target of many Alt-Right hate groups and groups that either border on or fully embrace Nazism. But the wording of Doherty’s article is not consistent. Cultural Marxism is dangerous to liberty, and there is no doubt. Yet articles like this send differing messages that leave readers a bit confused about the issues that we face.

So the issue should be clarified. Cultural Marxism stemmed from the Frankfurt School, and has progressed onward to become the backing for many progressive policies of the day. The biggest issue is that this ideology seeks to upend the enlightment values that remain the underpinnings for the majority of libertarian beliefs.

Tom Woods did an excellent podcast on the matter. He and Dr. Paul Gottfried tackle the issue and why it stands opposed to libertarian ideals.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhle0Jdnecc&w=560&h=315]

Towards the beginning, Mr. Woods discusses how condemnations of Cultural Marxism are not fashionable among libertarians who would like to fit in with the greater part of society. But acceptance in the larger political-cultural sphere is a small price to pay in the pursuit of a free world.

Libertarians need to be precise in their speech. Whether or not Doherty truly is opposed to condemnations of Cultural Marxism is still up for debate. It may be that the simply recognizes that the context is often anti-liberty. But lines in the piece contradict eachother.

In the en, thoughm, Cultural Marxism must not be tolerated by those who would truly like to see a free society.

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