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Towards the goal of learning Spanish

Gloriously Nerdy

The phrase “cultural Marxist idea” is not a precise academic category—it’s more of a political slogan. Here’s what it usually refers to and why it’s controversial:

Where the term comes from

• The label “Cultural Marxism” originated as a conspiracy theory, popular in far-right circles. It claims that Marxist thinkers, often tied to the Frankfurt School (20th-century German philosophers like Adorno, Horkheimer, Marcuse), deliberately shifted the focus from economics (class struggle) to culture (race, gender, sexuality, media, education).

• The idea was that instead of fighting over factories, Marxists supposedly tried to “corrupt” Western culture from within by promoting progressive values, feminism, multiculturalism, secularism, and LGBTQ+ rights.

Examples of what people call “cultural Marxist ideas”

• Promoting diversity and multiculturalism in education and media.

• Feminism, especially critiques of patriarchy.

• Anti-racism or critical race theory.

• LGBTQ+ acceptance and queer theory.

• Secular humanism over religious traditions.

• Critiques of capitalism through art, film, and pop culture.

Why it’s controversial

• Scholars of Marxism and the Frankfurt School say “cultural Marxism” as used today is a distortion. The Frankfurt thinkers were analyzing culture, yes, but not plotting a secret takeover.

• The modern use of “cultural Marxism” has been called a dog whistle, often echoing older antisemitic tropes about “secret Jewish influence” in media and academia.

• In short: it’s a loaded term, usually used to describe progressive social changes that conservatives dislike, rather than a coherent ideology.

So if someone says “cultural Marxist ideas,” they’re usually pointing at progressive cultural changes (diversity, feminism, queer rights, secularism) but framing them as part of a sinister Marxist plot—rather than as independent social movements.

Would you like me to show you a breakdown of the real Frankfurt School ideas (the philosophers who get tied to this) versus the modern conspiracy-theory version? That way you can see the gap between scholarship and rhetoric.

“Jewish donors have a lot of explaining to do. A lot of decoupling to do,” he said. “Because Jewish donors have been the No. 1 funding mechanism of radical, open border neoliberal quasi-Marxist policies, cultural institutions and nonprofits. This is a beast created by secular Jews. And now it’s coming for Jews, and they’re like, ‘What on Earth happened?’ And it’s not just the colleges. It’s the nonprofits, it’s the movies, it’s Hollywood, it’s all of it.”

This app was developed in Europe and is mostly used by the European population. I found it through a Dutch magazine called FLOW in 2017 and I’ve been using it ever since. Is there an American version of this app?