In a startling address at a Conservative conference held in Westminster on Monday, a Tory MP drew criticism for invoking a term linked to an antisemitic conspiracy theory, according to The National.
Miriam Cates, representing the constituency of Peniston and Stocksbridge, made alarming claims about the perils of "cultural Marxism," linking it to the alleged destruction of children's well-being, including self-harm, suicide and an alarming rise in anxiety levels.
"Cultural Marxism" is a far-right conspiracy theory that arose in the past century, which accuses left-wing and liberal people of revolutionizing society for the worse with their views. This theory purports that Marxist scholars devised a clandestine agenda of progressive politics aimed at undermining Western democracies. Over time, the theory gained antisemitic tones as many who believe in it believe it to be a Jewish plot.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews expressed condemnation towards Home Secretary Suella Braverman in 2019 for her use of the term "cultural Marxism." The organization, representing the British Jewish community, denounced her remarks due to the term's association with antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Moreover, the term has previously surfaced in the self-proclaimed manifesto of Anders Breivik, a far-right terrorist from Norway. Breivik killed 77 people in Norway's worst peacetime atrocity in July 2011. He killed eight with a car bomb in Oslo and then gunned down 69, most of them teenagers, at a Labour Party youth camp.
Why was cultural Marxism brought it up?
Cates, delivering one of the opening speeches at the National Conservatism Conference, emphasized that a sense of optimism and prospects for the future play a vital role in motivating young people to start families.
"That hope is sadly diminishing in so many of our young people today because liberal individualism has proven to be completely powerless to resist the cultural Marxism that is systematically destroying our children's souls," she said.
"When culture, schools and universities openly teach that our country is racist, our heroes are villians, humanity is killing the Earth, you are what your desire, diversity is theology, boundaries are tyranny and self-restraint is oppression, is it any wonder that mental health conditions, self-harm and suicide, and epidemic levels of anxiety and confusion characterize the emerging generation?
"We must end the indoctrination of our children with destructive and narcissistic ideologies, instead protecting childhood, training children in the timeless virtues and teaching them how to love our country," she added.
Raising concerns about her words
Lord John Mann, the Government's antisemitism czar, raised concerns about Cates's utilization of the term "cultural Marxism," stating that it originates from a conspiracy theory with antisemitic underpinnings, according to The Telegraph.
However, Yoram Hazony, the conference chairman and Orthodox Jewish theologian, argued that the term accurately characterizes the cultural agenda endorsed by numerous left-leaning individuals today. Hazony emphasized that he unequivocally rejects any association with antisemitism and does not provide a platform for such individuals.
According to Cates, liberal ideology is facing an imminent decline due to a lack of pride in national history among children, resulting in decreased motivation to carry it forward.
Additionally, she asserted that the declining fertility rate in the UK poses a greater threat to Western society than both Vladimir Putin's Russia and the escalating global temperatures.
"None of our philosophical musings or policy proposals will amount to anything long-lasting unless we address the one overarching threat to British conservatism and the whole of Western society."
Miriam Cates
"None of our philosophical musings or policy proposals will amount to anything long-lasting unless we address the one overarching threat to British conservatism and the whole of Western society," she said.
"No, it's not climate change, it's not Russia or China or Iran. It's not the neo-Marxist ideology that has so weakened our institutions. No, there is one critical outcome that liberal individualism has failed to deliver and that is babies."