WOF 532: The Suffocating "Warmth" of Marxist Collectivism

WOF 532: The Suffocating "Warmth" of Marxist Collectivism

From The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture by Bishop Robert Barron

March 30, 2026 · 46 min · Episode 532

About this episode

The episode discusses the resurgence of Marxist ideas in contemporary politics and the implications for Christians and human rights advocates.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show . I'm Matthew Petrusek, Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show . Thank you for joining us. Marxism, unfortunately, seems to be making a comeback. Despite its economically disastrous, politically oppressive, and horrifically inhumane track record, the atheistic philosophy that produced the Communist revolution and eventually led to the deaths of tens of millions of people has wheedled its way back to the center of our political culture. On the surface, this may sound surprising: Since the fall of the Berlin Wall over three decades ago, few public figures have openly identified as Marxist, and Communist political parties have typically occupied the outermost fringes of political influence. However, Marxist ideas–especially in the form of contemporary identity politics–have not only continued gathering momentum beneath the surface in universities, NGOs, the media, corporate HR departments, and government bureaucracies; high profile politicians, including the mayor of New York, Zohran Mandami, and Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, now seem to be openly advocating for Marxist policies. So how did…

People in this episode

Host: Matthew Petrusek

Topics covered

  • Marxism
  • political culture
  • identity politics
  • Christian response
  • human rights
  • common good

Keywords

  • Marxism
  • collectivism
  • political philosophy
  • identity politics
  • human rights
  • Catholic Church
  • political influence

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Word on Fire Institute, Catholic Church

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