Conservatives have been labeled racist, radical right, every phobic ever documented, and the most shameful conspiracy theorists for decades. All because they warned America that university indoctrination of the young mind would produce Marxist activism. Now according to one professor, they were right all along. Remember in 1987 when former President Ronald Reagan spoke in Berlin? “Mr. Gorbachev,” he urged the then-Soviet leader, “tear down this wall.” It was a defining moment in the fight against communism and a patriotic push for freedom. It was powerful, outwardly American, but did not hint at the events taking place in secular institutions under our very noses. Those seeds planted have now come to fruition.
Multiple texts in the eighties claimed offshoots of Marxist-derived “critical theories” were being forced upon students and would create radical activists on a grander scale than ever witnessed. In addition, several bestsellers were causing a ruckus: Tenured Radicals, Illiberal Education, and The Closing of the American Mind. Liberal educators scoffed and responded by labeling conservatives as “wingnuts.” But today, one UCLA professor emeritus, Russell Jacoby, admits, “In 1987, I published ‘The Last Intellectuals: American Culture in the Age of Academe,’ which elicited heated responses. Only now do I see I got something wrong – as did my critics.” Only now?
Critical Theory
Chaos has gripped western civilization. The tenets of freedom, commerce, and capitalism are being chipped away by socialism. Violent protests, embracing communist icons like Bolivian revolutionary Che Guevara, and kneeling during the National Anthem are all not-so-subtle hints that the American way of life is being mocked from within and is in danger. Yet, somehow, slang and institutional vernacular jargon are now mainstream talking points. “Critical theory” is a code word for Marxism, according to the book American Exile of the Frankfurt School. And buzz words like diversity, inclusion, microaggression, white privilege, and safe spaces have left the campus and are employed by the activist media. It is not difficult to connect the dots.
Jacoby describes the mindset over matter and explains the no-win argument relied upon by progressives:
“Justifications for liberal desiderata, however, almost immunize themselves to objections. If you question diversity mania, you support Western imperialism. Wonder about the significance of microaggression? You are a microaggressor. Have doubts about an eternal, all-inclusive white supremacy? You benefit from white privilege. Skeptical about new pronouns? You abet the suicide of fragile adolescents.”
Does that sound like every discussion on cable and network news between indignant liberal talking heads and conservative guests?
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But back in the late eighties, Jacoby found such fears ridiculous, “I argued that the conservatives should awake from their nightmare of radical scholars destroying America and relax; academic revolutionaries preoccupied themselves with their careers and perks.” That has changed recently, and he’s speaking out on what might be a long-lost cause of redirecting the seriously damaged American ship. But what will an apology do at this point?
The Horse has Left the Barn
Jacoby’s retelling of what conservatives have sensed all along does not assuage his guilt. At least not for the damage our own institutions have inflicted on an entire culture. Sure, it’s refreshing to see a former revolutionary liberal professor who once ridiculed an entire way of life change his tune and admit he was wrong. But the equine left the barn decades ago. Jacoby notes that “self-righteous professors have spawned self-righteous students who filter into the public square.” He goes on, “Politically, they mark a self-immolation of progressives; they flaunt their exquisite sensibilities and openness and display exquisite narcissism and insularity.”
That sounds about right.
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