Cultural Marxism: Far-right conspiracy theory in Australia’s culture wars

Journal article


Busbridge, Rachel, Moffitt, Benjamin and Thorburn, Joshua. (2020). Cultural Marxism: Far-right conspiracy theory in Australia’s culture wars. Social Identities. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504630.2020.1787822
AuthorsBusbridge, Rachel, Moffitt, Benjamin and Thorburn, Joshua
Abstract

As a conspiracy promoted by the far-right, Cultural Marxism has gained ground over the past quarter century. In its dominant iteration, the US-originating conspiracy holds that a small group of Marxist critical theorists have conspired to destroy Western civilisation by taking over key cultural institutions. Yet what does such a conspiracy look like in a transnational context – and how are such conspiracy theories adapted for local use? In this article, we trace Cultural Marxism’s use and function in Australia’s recent culture wars, asking when, where and in what contexts the conspiracy is invoked in the Australian political and media landscape. Our analysis examines the ways in which Cultural Marxism has moved from the ‘fringe’ to the ‘mainstream’, revealing the porous nature of divisions on the contemporary Australian right as well as differences between ‘old’ and ‘new’ right. We pay particular attention to the localised use of the conspiracy in the ‘Safe Schools’ controversy of 2016–2017, whereby Cultural Marxist tropes were imbued with local concerns about sexuality and gender issues. The article provides an important illustration and analysis of the ways in which transnational conspiracy theories and tropes of the far-right can be translated, adapted and used in different national contexts.

Keywordscultural Marxism; conspiracy theory; far-right; transnationalism; culture wars
Year2020
JournalSocial Identities
PublisherRoutledge, Taylor & Francis Group
ISSN1350-4630
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/13504630.2020.1787822
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85087573878
Page range1 - 17
Research GroupSchool of Arts
Publisher's version
File Access Level
Controlled
Place of publicationUnited Kingdom
Permalink -

https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/86x99/cultural-marxism-far-right-conspiracy-theory-in-australia-s-culture-wars

Restricted files

Publisher's version

  • 786
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 2
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month
These values are for the period from 19th October 2020, when this repository was created.

Export as

Related outputs

Nativism, civic nationalism and the malleability of voter attitudes
Kefford, Glenn, Moffitt, Benjamin and Werner, Annika. (2023). Nativism, civic nationalism and the malleability of voter attitudes. Acta Politica. 58(2), pp. 424-447. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-022-00253-8
How do populists visually represent ‘the people’? A systematic comparative visual content analysis of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders’ Instagram accounts
Moffitt, Benjamin. (2022). How do populists visually represent ‘the people’? A systematic comparative visual content analysis of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders’ Instagram accounts. The International Journal of Press/Politics. pp. 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612221100418
The localist turn in populism studies
Chou, Mark, Moffitt, Benjamin and Busbridge, Rachel. (2022). The localist turn in populism studies. Swiss Political Science Review. 28(1), pp. 129-141. https://doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12490
Populist attitudes : Bringing together ideational and communicative approaches
Kefford, Glenn, Moffitt, Benjamin and Werner, Annika. (2022). Populist attitudes : Bringing together ideational and communicative approaches. Political Studies. 70(4), pp. 1006-1027. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321721997741
How do mainstream parties ‘become’ mainstream, and pariah parties ‘become’ pariahs? Conceptualizing the processes of mainstreaming and pariahing in the labelling of political parties
Moffitt, Benjamin. (2022). How do mainstream parties ‘become’ mainstream, and pariah parties ‘become’ pariahs? Conceptualizing the processes of mainstreaming and pariahing in the labelling of political parties. Government and Opposition. 57(3), pp. 385-403. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2021.5
Changing the date : Local councils, Australia Day and cultures of national commemoration
Busbridge, Rachel. (2021). Changing the date : Local councils, Australia Day and cultures of national commemoration. Journal of Sociology. pp. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/14407833211044548
A multicultural success story? Australian integration in comparative focus
Busbridge, Rachel. (2021). A multicultural success story? Australian integration in comparative focus. Journal of Sociology. 56(2), pp. 263-270. https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783319869525
Who would identify with an "empty signifier"? : The relational, performative approach to populism
Ostiguy, Pierre and Moffitt, Benjamin. (2021). Who would identify with an "empty signifier"? : The relational, performative approach to populism. In In Ostiguy, Pierre, Panizza, Francisco and Moffitt, B. (Ed.). Populism in global perspective : A performative and discursive approach pp. 47-72 Routledge.
How local governments govern culture war conflicts
Chou, Mark and Busbridge, Rachel. (2020). How local governments govern culture war conflicts Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108867825
Political meritocracy and populism : Cure or curse?
Chou, Mark, Moffitt, Benjamin and Bryant, Octavia. (2020). Political meritocracy and populism : Cure or curse Routledge.
The potentials and difficulties of transnational populism : The case of the democracy in Europe movement 2025 (DiEM25)
De Cleen, Benjamin, Moffitt, Benjamin, Panayotu, Panos and Stavrakakis, Yannis. (2020). The potentials and difficulties of transnational populism : The case of the democracy in Europe movement 2025 (DiEM25). Political Studies. 68(1), pp. 146-166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321719847576
Messianic time, settler colonial technology and the elision of Palestinian presence in Jerusalem's historic basin
Busbridge, Rachel. (2020). Messianic time, settler colonial technology and the elision of Palestinian presence in Jerusalem's historic basin. Political Geography. 79, p. Article: 102158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2020.102158
Populism
Moffitt, Benjamin. (2020). Populism Polity Press.
Introduction
Ostiguy, Pierre, Panizza, Francisco and Moffitt, Benjamin. (2020). Introduction. In In Ostiguy, Pierre, Panizza, Francisco and Moffitt, Benjamin (Ed.). Populism in global perspective : A performative and discursive approach pp. 1-18 Routledge.
Conclusions : Reflections on the lessons learned
Panizza, Francisco, Ostiguy, Pierre and Moffitt, Benjamin. (2020). Conclusions : Reflections on the lessons learned. In In Panizza, Francisco, Ostiguy, Pierre and Moffitt, Benjamin (Ed.). Populism in global perspective : A performative and discursive approach pp. 255-274 Routledge.
Culture wars and city politics, revisited: Local councils and the Australia Day controversy
Busbridge, Rachel and Chou, Mark. (2020). Culture wars and city politics, revisited: Local councils and the Australia Day controversy. Urban Affairs Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087420945034
Populism versus technocracy : Performance, passions, and aesthetics
Moffitt, Benjamin. (2019). Populism versus technocracy : Performance, passions, and aesthetics. In In Cossarini, Paolo and Vallespín, Fernando (Ed.). Populism and passions : Democratic legitimacy after austerity pp. 49-64 Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351205474-4
Culture wars, local government, and the Australia Day controversy: Insights from urban politics research
Chou, Mark and Busbridge, Rachel. (2019). Culture wars, local government, and the Australia Day controversy: Insights from urban politics research. Urban Policy and Research. 37(3), pp. 367 - 377. https://doi.org/10.1080/08111146.2019.1631786
The politics of decolonisation and bi-nationalism in Israel/Palestine
Bashir, Bashir and Busbridge, Rachel. (2019). The politics of decolonisation and bi-nationalism in Israel/Palestine. Political Studies. 67(2), pp. 388 - 405. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321718767029
Populism 2.0: social media and the false allure of "unmediated" representation
Moffitt, Ben. (2019). Populism 2.0: social media and the false allure of "unmediated" representation. In In G. Fitzi, J. Mackert and B.S. Turner (Ed.). Populism and the Crisis of Democracy: Politics, Social Movements and Extremism pp. 30 - 46 Routledge.
Populism and media in Western Europe
Moffitt, Ben. (2019). Populism and media in Western Europe. In In C. De La Torre (Ed.). Routledge Handbook of Global Populism pp. 235 - 248 Routledge.
The populism/anti-populism divide in Western Europe
Moffitt, Benjamin. (2018). The populism/anti-populism divide in Western Europe. Democratic Theory. 5(2), pp. 1 - 16. https://doi.org/10.3167/dt.2018.050202
Multicultural politics of recognition and postcolonial citizenship: rethinking the nation
Busbridge, Rachel. (2018). Multicultural politics of recognition and postcolonial citizenship: rethinking the nation Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315620022
Israel-Palestine and the settler colonial 'turn': from interpretation to decolonisation
Busbridge, Rachel. (2018). Israel-Palestine and the settler colonial 'turn': from interpretation to decolonisation. Theory, Culture and Society: explorations in critical social science. 35(1), pp. 91 - 115. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276416688544
The wall has feet but so do we': Palestinian workers in Israel and the 'separation' wall
Busbridge, Rachel. (2017). The wall has feet but so do we': Palestinian workers in Israel and the 'separation' wall. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 44(3), pp. 373 - 390. https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2016.1194187
Populism in Australia and New Zealand
Moffitt, Ben. (2017). Populism in Australia and New Zealand. In In C. R. Kaltwasser, P. Taggart and P. O. Espejo and P. Ostiguy (Ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Populism pp. 121 - 139 Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198803560.013.5
Transnational populism? Representative claims, media and the difficulty of constructing a transnational “people”
Moffitt, Ben. (2017). Transnational populism? Representative claims, media and the difficulty of constructing a transnational “people”. Javnost. 24(4), pp. 409 - 425. https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2017.1330086
Liberal illiberalism? The reshaping of the contemporary populist radical right in Northern Europe
Moffitt, Ben. (2017). Liberal illiberalism? The reshaping of the contemporary populist radical right in Northern Europe. Politics and Governance. 5(4), pp. 112 - 122. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v5i4.996
The global rise of populism: performance, political style, and representation
Moffitt, Ben. (2016). The global rise of populism: performance, political style, and representation Stanford University Press.
How to perform crisis: a model for understanding the key role of crisis in contemporary populism
Moffitt, Ben. (2015). How to perform crisis: a model for understanding the key role of crisis in contemporary populism. Government and Opposition: an international journal of comparative politics. 50(2), pp. 189 - 217. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2014.13
Contemporary populism and "the people" in the Asia-Pacific: Thaksin Shinawatra and Pauline Hanson
Moffitt, Ben. (2015). Contemporary populism and "the people" in the Asia-Pacific: Thaksin Shinawatra and Pauline Hanson. In In C. de la Torre (Ed.). The Promise and Perils of Populism: Global Perspectives pp. 293 - 316 The University Press of Kentucky.
‘Dialogue and other “men’s business”: gender, conflict and multicultural politics in the diaspora
Busbridge, Rachel and Winarnita, Monika. (2015). ‘Dialogue and other “men’s business”: gender, conflict and multicultural politics in the diaspora. Journal of Intercultural Studies. 36(2), pp. 202 - 220. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256868.2015.1008434
On haunted geography: writing nation and contesting claims in the ghost village of Lifta
Busbridge, Rachel. (2015). On haunted geography: writing nation and contesting claims in the ghost village of Lifta. Interventions: international journal of postcolonial studies. 17(4), pp. 469 - 487. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369801X.2014.937735
Funding Pain: Bedouin Women and Political Economy in the Naqab/Negev
Shalhoub-Kevorkian, Nadera, Woodsum, Antonina Griecci, Zu'bi, Himmat and Busbridge, Rachel. (2014). Funding Pain: Bedouin Women and Political Economy in the Naqab/Negev. Feminist Economics. 20(4), pp. 164 - 186. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2014.946941
Afghan-Australians: Diasporic tensions, homeland transformations and the “2014 syndrome”
Abraham, Ibrahim and Busbridge, Rachel. (2014). Afghan-Australians: Diasporic tensions, homeland transformations and the “2014 syndrome”. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 34(3), pp. 243 - 258. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602004.2014.946766
Frontier Jerusalem: Blurred separation and uneasy coexistence in a divided city
Busbridge, Rachel. (2014). Frontier Jerusalem: Blurred separation and uneasy coexistence in a divided city. Thesis Eleven: critical theory and historical sociology. 121(1), pp. 76 - 100. https://doi.org/10.1177/0725513614526156
"It's Just Your Turn": Performing Identity and Muslim Australian Popular Culture
Busbridge, Rachel. (2013). "It's Just Your Turn": Performing Identity and Muslim Australian Popular Culture. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. 24(4), pp. 459 - 477. https://doi.org/10.1080/09596410.2013.806390
Rethinking populism: politics, mediatisation and political style
Moffitt, Ben and Tormey, Simon. (2013). Rethinking populism: politics, mediatisation and political style. Political Studies. 62(2), pp. 381 - 397. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9248.12032
Performing colonial sovereignty and the Israeli “separation” wall
Busbridge, Rachel. (2013). Performing colonial sovereignty and the Israeli “separation” wall. Social Identities: journal for the study of race, nation and culture. 19(5), pp. 653 - 669. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504630.2013.835514