On this episode of The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast, Jeremiah and Juan discuss Communism's transformation into a popular political position in the United States.

In “Marxism, Socialism, and Communism,” professors of history, politics, and economics look at Marx’s life and writings, the misery and brutality in the Soviet Union, the atrocities of communist China, and the proliferation of Cultural Marxism in America. They explore how many ideas animating American politics today are rooted in Marxism, and yet how they differ from Marx’s thought. By taking Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and the Frankfurt School seriously, we can see the injustice and evil inherent in all strands of Marxism. We also better understand the critiques of communism made by Mises, Hayek, and Solzhenitsyn. We are, therefore, better equipped to defeat it. 

Cultural Marxism focuses on Marx’s social critiques rather than his economic theories. Cultural Marxists claim that social structures cause the systemic oppression of minority groups. Their critiques center on race, sex, and gender, rather than economic class. Following the 2008 financial crisis, Marx’s economic theories returned to prominence and have combined with the cultural Marxist theories to animate many American political and cultural movements.