America’s Armchair Revolutionaries: How the Left Is Rediscovering Marxism as the Ultimate Virtue Signal
20th July 2025
During the Cold War, Soviet communists reportedly referred to American liberals as “useful idiots.”
Although the origin of the quote has been challenged (and attributed to both Lenin and Stalin), it captured many of the adherents of communism after World War II. From higher education to Hollywood, dilettantes on the left embraced Marxism with little real understanding of the philosophy or its implications.
We are now seeing the rise of a new generation of armchair revolutionaries who are calling for everything from the overthrow of the U.S. government to the seizure of factories and homes.