The Culture War is The Class War: A Theory of the Two Lefts

Get access to The Backroom, with 100+ exclusive episodes of 1Dime Radio, on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OneDimeThis episode is an ElevenLabs voice-over of my essay “The Culture War IS the Class War: A Theory of the Two Lefts,” the fourth and final essay in my Genealogy of Wokeism series, originally published on my Substack. The essay challenges the familiar claim that the culture war is merely a distraction from the class war. Instead, I argue that the culture war is one arena of class conflict, driven by elite overproduction and an internal division between two increasingly incompatible lefts: a class-first left committed to universal economic transformation and a woke cultural left rooted in the professional-managerial class.Using the Bernie Sanders campaigns of 2016 and 2020—including the defining confrontation at his 2015 Seattle rally—as case studies, I examine the left-unity trap, pseudo-radicalism, institutional capture, K–12 education, gender politics, and the tendency of post-woke leftists to dismiss live cultural conflicts as fringe distractions. The essay argues that a serious working-class politics cannot succeed by ignoring these conflicts or indefinitely accommodating the faction that dominates the left’s institutional terrain.You can listen to 1Dime Radio on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get podcasts.Timestamps:0:00 The Culture War IS the Class War: A Theory of the Two Lefts2:12 Memory-Holing Wokeism7:44 Culture War Is Class War13:54 The Lesson of Bernie Sanders, 2016–202016:17 The Day Sanders Stood Still34:19 The Left’s Civil War41:26 A Theory of the Two Lefts51:37 The Left Unity Trap53:24 The Hard Truth Most Old Leftists Don’t Want to Admit56:26 How Pseudo-Radicalism Masks the Divide Between the Two Lefts1:05:37 If Wokeism Is So Fringe, Then Why Doesn’t the Left Reject It?1:09:29 Wokeism as a Paper Tiger1:12:28 Why Accommodating Woke Fails1:15:39 What Is to Be Done?1:18:23 The Correct Answer to “Throwing Minorities Under the Bus”1:28:49 Nothing to See Here, Folks. Turning a Blind Eye.1:29:56 K–12 Radicalism and Gender/Race Education Revolution1:31:40 The Gender Wars Were Waged by the Wokes and Rejected by the Right1:36:47 Why Ignoring Culture War Enables Wokeism1:38:16 “No War but Class War” Is a Lazy Cop-Out1:41:30 What Discourse Is For1:45:42 Conclusion: The Class War Is Inseparable from the Culture WarFOLLOW 1Dime:1Dime Radio YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@1dimeradioSubstack: https://1dimereview.substack.com/X/Twitter: https://x.com/1DimeOfficialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyof1dime/Main 1Dime YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@1DimeeLeave a like, comment, and subscribe. Give 1Dime Radio a 5-star rating on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.