Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 10 hours ago
Philosopher Gabriel Rockhill joins Steve Grumbine on Macro N Cheese to uncovering the CIA's and US National Security State's covert war on anti-imperialist Marxism, and how they funded, promoted, and sanitized a toothless "Western Marxism" to discredit real revolutionary socialism.
The episode dissects Rockhill's meticulously researched thesis: the US Empire recognizes that the "war of ideas" is primary. To protect the super-profits of imperialism, it systematically undermined the global socialist project not just with coups and assassinations (like Che Guevara's), but by infiltrating academia and culture to promote a depoliticized, academic "Marxism" that is disconnected from class struggle and anti-imperialist praxis. Rockhill traces how the CIA and related agencies cultivated a "fake left" of intellectuals (e.g., figures from the Frankfurt School, Gloria Steinem, and others), creating a "theory industrial complex" that circulates commodities of thought rather than tools for liberation. The conversation champions dialectical and historical materialism as the essential, scientific framework for understanding this system and for reconnecting with the revolutionary, anti-imperialist Marxism of the Global South.
#CIA #Marxism #ClassStruggle #Imperialism #DialeticalMaterialism #HistoricalMarxism #GlobalSouth #FakeLeft
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
01:11 The Absence of Class Struggle in the U.S.
01:30 Introducing Gabriel Rockhill's Book
02:51 Che Guevara and the CIA's Intellectual War
10:13 The U.S. Empire's Fear of Communism
17:27 Historical and Dialectical Materialism
25:02 The Evolution of Marxism and Class Struggle
30:28 Western Marxism and U.S. Propaganda
33:27 Complicity of Intellectuals with the CIA
34:08 Notable Figures and Their CIA Connections
35:37 Journalists and the CIA
35:46 Challenges in Documenting Modern Collaborations
40:34 Personal Transformations and Intellectual Journeys
49:20 The Theory Industrial Complex
57:35 The Need for a Genuine Left Movement
01:00:46 Conclusion and Future Directions
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
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We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
#mmt
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
Philosopher Gabriel Rockhill joins Steve Grumbine on Macro N Cheese to uncovering the CIA's and US National Security State's covert war on anti-imperialist Marxism, and how they funded, promoted, and sanitized a toothless "Western Marxism" to discredit real revolutionary socialism.
The episode dissects Rockhill's meticulously researched thesis: the US Empire recognizes that the "war of ideas" is primary. To protect the super-profits of imperialism, it systematically undermined the global socialist project not just with coups and assassinations (like Che Guevara's), but by infiltrating academia and culture to promote a depoliticized, academic "Marxism" that is disconnected from class struggle and anti-imperialist praxis. Rockhill traces how the CIA and related agencies cultivated a "fake left" of intellectuals (e.g., figures from the Frankfurt School, Gloria Steinem, and others), creating a "theory industrial complex" that circulates commodities of thought rather than tools for liberation. The conversation champions dialectical and historical materialism as the essential, scientific framework for understanding this system and for reconnecting with the revolutionary, anti-imperialist Marxism of the Global South.
#CIA #Marxism #ClassStruggle #Imperialism #DialeticalMaterialism #HistoricalMarxism #GlobalSouth #FakeLeft
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction
01:11 The Absence of Class Struggle in the U.S.
01:30 Introducing Gabriel Rockhill's Book
02:51 Che Guevara and the CIA's Intellectual War
10:13 The U.S. Empire's Fear of Communism
17:27 Historical and Dialectical Materialism
25:02 The Evolution of Marxism and Class Struggle
30:28 Western Marxism and U.S. Propaganda
33:27 Complicity of Intellectuals with the CIA
34:08 Notable Figures and Their CIA Connections
35:37 Journalists and the CIA
35:46 Challenges in Documenting Modern Collaborations
40:34 Personal Transformations and Intellectual Journeys
49:20 The Theory Industrial Complex
57:35 The Need for a Genuine Left Movement
01:00:46 Conclusion and Future Directions
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Donorbox
donorbox.org/each-one-teach-one-3
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
Subscribe to our Substack:
realprogressives.substack.com
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
#mmt
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
