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The Psychology of the Modern Leftist Once you understand the psychology of the modern leftist, the last decade of the woke revolution makes more sense. The endless outrage, hypersensitivity, and rejection of rational debate may reflect something deeper than ideology: a crisis of self-worth expressed as a moral crusade. “Leftist” is a broad term, but here it refers to socialists, collectivists, LGBTQ activists, and similar movements. What unites them may be more than politics; it may also be a psychological orientation. Modern leftism can be associated with feelings of inferiority, low self-esteem, powerlessness, guilt, self-hatred, and resentment. These feelings may be repressed while still influencing behavior. The hypersensitivity to language illustrates this. Words once used without negative intent can become symbols of oppression through activist campaigns. Ironically, those most offended are sometimes privileged academics rather than the minorities they claim to defend. Many leftists identify with groups perceived as weak or disadvantaged. This may reflect genuine compassion, but it can also involve projecting personal feelings of weakness onto others. Strength, success, competition, and rationality can consequently become objects of suspicion. Western civilization, America, and other symbols of power may be treated similarly. The criticism can also be inconsistent. Flaws condemned in Western societies may be excused when found in socialist regimes or traditional cultures. This suggests that resentment may sometimes play a role alongside genuine moral concerns. Self-reliance, personal responsibility, and merit are often viewed skeptically, while collectivism is favored. Objective truth can also become threatening because it creates distinctions: some arguments are better than others, and some people succeed while others fail. When equality of outcome becomes the moral standard, truth, merit, and individualism may be attacked—not necessarily to uplift the oppressed, but to reduce psychological discomfort. When victimhood becomes central to identity, problems may no longer simply be discovered; they can become necessary to sustain that identity.

The Evolution of Modern Leftism Left-wing and woke ideology often presents itself through noble ideas: compassion, justice, equality, and progress. But progress toward what? That question is rarely asked. To understand modern leftism, we must look back nearly 200 years. Ideas evolve like viruses: when society develops resistance to one form, academics modify it until it becomes more contagious, destructive, and difficult to recognize. Hegel proposed the dialectic: opposing ideas—a thesis and antithesis—collide to produce a synthesis. Marx applied this framework to economics through dialectical materialism. He viewed history as a struggle between the “haves” and “have-nots” and predicted that workers would overthrow capitalism and create a communist utopia. When Marx’s vision failed, Lenin reworked it. He argued that workers needed to be led by an elite revolutionary class. This produced the idea of perpetual revolution: after one oppressor is defeated, the next ruling class becomes the new enemy. The struggle never ends. The Frankfurt School later adapted Marxism for the West. It argued that capitalism’s material success had made workers less receptive to revolution, so the focus shifted to culture, education, media, religion, and the arts. The goal became a gradual “long march through the institutions.” Postmodernists expanded the theory further, arguing that power exists everywhere—not only between rich and poor, but also between men and women, racial groups, heterosexual and homosexual people, and colonizers and the colonized. The personal became political. Intersectionality then presented oppression as a matrix in which every identity adds another layer of victimhood and moral authority. At one extreme is the idealized figure of a poor, disabled, rural, transgender lesbian woman from a developing country. At the other is the supposed ultimate oppressor: a wealthy, educated, able-bodied, straight, white, cisgender, Christian, Western man living in a city. Modern progressivism, in this view, is essentially neo-Marxism in drag.

Marxism: A Religion of Destruction and Resentment Marxism is not an economic theory. It is a religion for destructive and resentful losers. The *Communist Manifesto* opens with spiritual language. Marx and Engels declare that “a specter is haunting Europe—the specter of communism”—and that “all the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance” to exercise this specter. Academics and useful idiots claim that the doctrine aims to redistribute wealth in order to create a more equitable world, erasing the distinction between the haves and the have-nots. It is all about love and compassion, guys. Yet, in the roughly 12,000 words of the authorized *Communist Manifesto*, Marx does not use these words of positive affirmation. “Neighbor” is not mentioned, “redistribute” does not appear, and “love” is used twice—but not in reference to loving anybody else. Now consider the opposite. “Violent” or “violence” is used seven times; “overthrow,” nine times; “radical,” fifteen times; “force,” “forced,” or “forcible,” forty-seven times; and “abolish” or “abolition,” sixty-one times. The doctrine is presented as something achieved through violence, revolution, and theft. The one place Marx gets concrete is in his list of ten measures, and every one of them involves a seizure, a confiscation, or an abolition. Of the classless heaven that is supposedly meant to follow, he says almost nothing. Rather, writing to Arnold Ruge in September 1843, Marx claims that his program is “the ruthless criticism of all that exists”—that everything is worthy of criticism—and builds his work from there. Perhaps he was echoing a line from Goethe’s *Faust* that had caught his attention: “All that exists deserves to perish,” a line spoken by a devil. This is another pattern in Marx’s thought. He is not a reformer aiming to make a tweak here or there. His language is totalizing: all, every, everything. Marxists constantly claim that real communism has never been tried. They argue that totalitarian psychopaths such as Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot were merely defects or deviations. Yet their attempts to control everything, down to thought itself, echo the dogma of the *Communist Manifesto*.

I am in breathtaking Jackson Hole for this year's Economic Policy Symposium! I look forward to engaging with central bankers and academics on the opportunities and challenges shaping the global economy, including the future of financial innovation. https://t.co/cpJJAMqcla #JacksonHole #EconomicPolicy #FinancialInnovation #Thetweetdoesnotmentionanyspecificcountries.Therefore #therearenocountrycodestoreturn.

I am with @sndurlauf. This reeks of an academic scandal. Tenure is worth nothing is such a dismissal is possible. Consider signing the open letter by @JosephEStiglitz protesting this. I probably disagree with him and Stiglitz about anything and everything, but this is dangerous. #AcademicScandal #Tenure #OpenLetter #Therearenospecificcountrymentionsinthetweetprovided.Therefore #therearenocountrycodestoreturn.

Individual great academics have had as much influence on their field and the minds they created as great statesmen had for their countries. The acceptance of mediocrity to fill the roles of teachers and leaders is disastrous for science and civilization #EducationMatters #Leadership #ExcellenceInAcademia #Nospecificcountrycodesarementionedinthetweet.

Many academics are losing jobs in the UK. But @edgehill case stands out: a distinguished human rights scholar fired while battling cancer. Hope justice prevails & students consider universities' human rights records & treatment of staff when deciding where to study. #HumanRights #JobLoss #HigherEducation #UK

"Denying rape when Jews are the victims, and inventing rape when they can be portrayed as perpetrators." This is UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese in a nutshell, and here she has the support of most politicians, journalists, and academics. Belgium has a very big problem! 👇🏻 #JusticeForVictims #FreeSpeech #Antisemitism #BE

The newly established £48 million Wound Innovation Institute in Hull aims to revolutionize the treatment of chronic wounds by collaborating with academics, NHS clinicians, and industry partners to research their causes and develop innovative therapies, with significant funding support from both private companies and government grants. #WoundCare #MedicalResearch #HealthcareInnovation #GB

The newly opened £48m Wound Innovation Institute in Hull aims to transform the treatment of chronic wounds by collaborating with academics, NHS clinicians, and industry partners to develop innovative therapies and advance research in the field, addressing a significant area of unmet clinical need. #WoundCare #MedicalResearch #HealthcareInnovation #GB

The newly opened £48m Wound Innovation Institute in Hull aims to transform the treatment of chronic wounds by collaborating with academics, NHS clinicians, and industry partners to develop innovative therapies and advance research in the field, addressing a significant area of unmet clinical need. #WoundCare #MedicalResearch #HealthcareInnovation #GB

Francesca Albanese, who spreads this horrible antisemitic lie about “Israeli dogs raping Palestinians,” is widely celebrated in 🇧🇪 Belgium by mainstream politicians, journalists, and academics. Recently, she was even honored by three major universities in this country (Flanders #Antisemitism #Belgium #FreeSpeech #BE

Een Franse wetenschapper, Florent Montaclair, is gearresteerd voor jarenlang bedrog waarbij hij deed alsof hij een prestigieuze Nobelprijs voor filologie uitdeelde, terwijl in werkelijkheid de prijs en het bijbehorende genootschap verzinsels waren. #Fraud #AcademicScandal #FakeAwards

Florent Montaclair, a lecturer-researcher from Besançon, is under investigation for allegedly fabricating an international philology award to enhance his academic reputation, a ruse that led to his expulsion from the university and scrutiny over his credentials. #AcademicScandal #Fraud #HigherEducation #FR #US #GB

The latest outsourcing regulations issued a day before Labor Day have raised concerns among workers' associations and academics regarding worker protection and fairness, as the rules introduce ambiguous terms that may lead to increased outsourcing across various job sectors, despite the government's intent to provide clearer legal protections and more equitable practices for outsourced workers. #Outsourcing #LaborRights #WorkerProtection #ID

A declaration signed by nearly 300 individuals, including academics from 26 universities, educators, and professionals, strongly condemns a Ministry of Finance directive recommending the elimination of 15 programs from the Ministry of Education, labeling it a "maximum irresponsibility" and a "blow" to public education, while warning that such policies could dismantle the system and disproportionately impact vulnerable student populations. #PublicEducation #EducationPolicy #SocialJustice #CL