Preface

We are witnessing a crisis of civilization. The values that have sustained free societies under the rule of law are being undermined by materialist ideologies that are leading to the destruction of traditional institutions of faith and family as well as foundational principles of honor, fidelity and patriotism.

This steady erosion of civilizational values may be difficult for some to recognize, given the marvels of science and technology that are simultaneously transforming the world around us. Yet there are signs aplenty: the promotion of immorality in our entertainment, the dishonesty of our mass media, the suppression of dissent in our democracies, the sexual confusion among many of our youth, the moral decline of our religious institutions, the irresponsibility of our educators who lead students to reject traditional values and norms, the promotion of depressing dystopian visions of our future, and the reckless spending of governments on socialist programs that our children and children’s children will be forced to pay for.

What is the cause of this crisis? First and foremost, it is the steady spread of materialist ideologies into the very fabric of our culture, a metastasizing of destructive theories that are rotting our civilizational foundations. This is taking place despite the sincere efforts of good and conscientious people to stem the tide of these corrosive ideas, and despite the sacrifices by millions of our finest young people in the last century who defeated the totalitarian regimes built on these materialist ideologies.

We Thought Fascism and Communism were Defeated

With the Allied victory in World War II, we believed we had put an end to Fascism. And with the collapse of the Soviet Union forty-five years later, we believed we had finally discredited Marxism and defeated Communism. We were wrong. Both the Fascist and Communist regimes that caused so much destruction and suffering in the 20th century were based on socialist theories that put their trust and hope in powerful centralized governments rather than the virtues and abilities of individuals. These socialist ideas still flourish, and we are now faced with the imminent threat of the aggressive Marxist regime in China—which is more dangerous than the former Soviet Union—as well as the unprecedented infiltration and corruption of our societies by Marxist and Neo-Marxist ideologies. (See Glossary of Names and Terms on pages 490-505.) Unlike Marxism, Fascism was never a theory of political economy; rather, it was simply an authoritarian ruling ideology that was eagerly adopted by dictators of all stripes, whether socialist or capitalist. Communism, however, was another matter altogether. It appeared in the 20th century as the incarnation of 19th century materialist theories developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels—theories that justified violent revolution and totalitarian dictatorship. Its first true application was in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, after which many believers in the Communist promise of a materialist Utopia
looked to Russia as the model society of the future.

Many of these believers were shocked, however, when the truth emerged about Soviet Russia and especially when the excesses of Stalin’s Reign of Terror came to light in 1956. Nevertheless, despite the abysmal record of the Soviet Union and other failed Communist states, Marx’s ideas survived the collapse of those regimes and have been infused with new philosophical life in our time. The first such infusion occurred when Marxism was combined with Freudianism in the Critical Theories developed by the Frankfurt School. Later, the French Postmodernists broadened the scope of Critical Theories to make them a comprehensive Leftist program of social transformation. It is the pernicious Neo-Marxism of Critical Theories that is now most responsible for destroying our civilization from within.

China’s 100-Year Marathon to World Domination

The danger these theories pose is greatly heightened by the rapid development of a heavily militarized Communist China, a Marxist-Maoist regime that shares an ideological affinity with Leftist movements around the world. This affinity, coupled with an attitude of accommodation and appeasement towards China, is exploited by Beijing to advance its aggressive and expansionist international agenda, and intimidate and subvert governments and institutions everywhere. Shamefully, China’s meteoric rise has been fueled by massive investments from an industrialized world that is morally bankrupt: It turns a blind eye to China’s murderous history, its genocide of minorities, its persecution of religious groups and its suppression of individual freedoms just so corporations can profit from the vast Chinese market.

The West naturally looks at China through the lens of its own interests and history. But this is a fatal error. China has a totally different perspective, drawn from its own history and in particular the lessons from the period of Warring States (475-221 BC). In its more recent history, China experienced a century of international humiliation which, starting with the first Opium War (1839-1842), won by Britain, saw a series of foreign invasions and occupations that stoked national resentment towards the West and Westernized states. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) believes that this era came to an end only when it took power in 1949. From that point on, the CCP has been pursuing a “100-Year Marathon” strategy to redress its past grievances by overtaking America as the world’s superpower (by 2049 at the latest). The CCP claims it has assumed the Mandate of Heaven as the defender of Chinese honor. Its ideology is a clever combination of the ancient Chinese theory
that there can be only one global hegemon (which they think is rightfully China) and the Marxist theory that history is an inexorable process of class warfare leading to the inevitable victory of the revolutionary class under the leadership of a Socialist dictatorship.

We Are Facing a Two-Headed Beast

China is no longer a distant threat. It has breached our weak defenses and is in our midst. Its agents, enablers and apologists are scattered throughout our society, and its network of allies is steadily encircling us, backed with Beijing’s ever-growing financial and military power. In public, China espouses a multipolar world, but in practice it is working to achieve its own global hegemony. It is greatly aided in this by the Leftist movements around the world. Thus Communist China in the East, and Marxist and Neo-Marxist movements primarily in the West are two heads of the same beast that is slowly but surely killing our sacred traditions and trampling our civilization to death. This soulless and diabolical two-headed beast is our nemesis, our malignant enemy.

To confront and defeat the beast we have to know its nature and the nature of the threat it poses; we have to understand its motivation and strategy. In this endeavor we have the benefit of history, which amply reveals the nature of materialist ideologies in the record of their totalitarian predations. These ideologies may have evolved over time, but their core justification for hatred and conflict have remained.

Looking at the bloodshed of the last century, which is measured in the deaths of tens of millions of innocents, we really have no choice but to stand up and fight the beast we face today. The alternative is truly dark: It is a future similar to the present experienced by those living under the CCP today— privilege for those in the ruling class and persecution for anyone at odds with the regime. We should not be fooled by calming reassurances of peaceful intentions from Beijing or by the professions of idealism from the Leftists in our midst. Make no mistake. The beast is evil. It is our mortal enemy. If it succeeds, it will kill or enslave us all.

How Did We Get Here?

We find ourselves confronting today the most powerful and sinister ideology in history. How did we get to the point where our faith and belief systems have proven unable to stop the growth of Marxist ideologies and movements?

Britain’s 1689 Glorious Revolution and the subsequent American Revolution of 1776 were historic milestones in the development of free and prosperous societies. These revolutions challenged monarchies, secured God-given rights for people to live in democracies and set in motion unprecedented advances for all humanity. But while successful, these revolutions did not anticipate the atheistic doctrines of Marx, Engels, Marcuse, Foucault and others, and they have not offered a convincing answer to the criticisms leveled against free and capitalist societies by the ideologues of the Left. This is because Marxist and Neo-Marxist theories challenge not only political systems, whether monarchies or democracies, but also the religion-based ideas and values that undergird our civilization and institutions. It is clear that neither Judeo-Christian principles and values of the West nor traditional Asian values and philosophies of the East have been able to successfully counter and defeat materialist ideologies or block the aggressive rise of Communist China. Consequently, the liberties we now enjoy are in grave danger.

Looking at the dire situation of the world today, people of faith and goodwill everywhere must recognize that despite their prodigious efforts to build free and just societies, they have not been able to stave off, let alone eliminate, the forces of materialism, violent revolution and totalitarian oppression. We must find a new frame of reference to address this manifestation of evil.

The Cain-Abel Paradigm

To understand evil in the world today, we must look to the beginning of human existence when evil was first introduced to the world. In the Biblical story, the first human family failed to fulfill its responsibilities and consequently introduced patterns of evil behavior into human relations that have bedeviled us ever since. This book uses that scriptural account of the origin of good and evil to explain how these two primordial but antithetical forces influence human nature and behavior, and how they have shaped ideas and history. Our particular interest is to identify how good and evil manifest in opposing attitudes and behaviors and explain the contradictory belief systems that emerge from them.

All people experience a struggle between conflicting forces within themselves: a desire to do good that is at war with a tendency to do evil. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn put it in The Gulag Archipelago: “The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” Our response to these conflicting impulses determines our behavior, good and bad.

The Genesis story of Cain and Abel reveals that members of the first human family inherited this internal conflict due to their alienation from the Creator. Thus the internal struggle between good and evil within individuals was externalized when Cain, the elder son, became bitter when his sacrifice was rejected by God and, in a fit of jealous rage, murdered his younger brother Abel, whose offering had been accepted by God. Cain’s attitude and behavior established him as the archetype of evil while Abel became the archetype of good. Evil’s domination of good in the first family established a pattern that has been repeated throughout history.

As Jordan Peterson pointed out in a 2017 lecture: Cain and Abel are “prototypical human beings… Humanity enters history at the end of the story of Adam and Eve, and then the archetypal patterns of human behavior are instantaneously presented… The first two human beings engage in a fratricidal struggle that ends in the death of the best one of them. That’s the story of human beings in history.”

The importance of the Biblical story lies not in its historical accuracy but in the truth it reveals about human nature and behavior and about the nature of good and evil in general. In the Genesis account, Cain is jealous, resentful, accusatory, violent and murderous. Abel is faithful, patient, persevering, humble and obedient. These opposite-character types produce conflicting attitudes, ideas and behaviors that are reflected in fundamentally different worldviews.

This is the Cain-Abel paradigm: the principle that governs the relationships between people alienated from God, in history and the world. It recognizes that the world we live in is not the world of God’s original intent but a world in which evil has dominion over good, after the pattern of Cain dominating Abel. And, since Cain was born first, in this world evil precedes good.

The problem caused by evil preceding good is exacerbated by evil typically masquerading as good, sowing confusion and mistrust. Consequently, many good people have been deceived into doing evil, often with the best of intentions. Understanding the Cain-Abel paradigm enables us to see clearly what is really taking place in history and the world around us—and to discern what is actually good and what is actually evil.

In this book we demonstrate how the Cain-Abel paradigm can be used to recognize the evil that lies behind Marxism and related materialist ideologies and how the forces of good can finally gain enduring supremacy over them. This is the triumph of good. It portends the demise of Marxism and an end to Cain’s dominion of the world.

Cain and Abel in History and the World Today

Why is it that despite the tremendous advances of the past century, Marxism and its evil ideological offspring have been able to gain such a strong grip on the civilized world? The answer can be found within the Cain-Abel paradigm. As Winston Churchill said: “The story of the human race is war. Except for brief and precarious interludes, there has never been peace in the world; and before history began, murderous strife was universal and unending.” This history of violent conflict and war is a legacy of the conflict between Cain and Abel.

Although evil often dominates good, ultimately, through great effort, “Abel” has sometimes found the way to prevail over “Cain.” Indeed, despite the prevalence of evil, history demonstrates that good advances incrementally as people of virtue sacrifice themselves for the sake of Divine providence.

For example, when Jacob won over his embittered elder twin Esau after twenty-one years of hardship in Haran, he was able to establish the twelve tribes as the foundation for the chosen nation of Israel. And when millions of good people made incredible sacrifices to defeat totalitarianism in the 20th century, they protected freedom and opened the way for liberty to spread around the world. Thus while Cain-type successes have resulted in setbacks for human progress, Abel-type successes have resulted in ever-increasing human enlightenment and progress.

Materialist ideologies—in particular Marxism and its offshoots—arose from Cain-type attitudes of jealousy and resentment. Therefore, these ideas appeal to and stimulate Cain-type nature. This is why a Marxist or other materialist is typically driven by insatiable envy and resentment and is willing to justify violence to achieve his ends.

We assert that Cain-type ideology has evolved over time as part of human development and reached its culmination in atheistic Marxism and its Neo-Marxist offshoots. These malignant theories advocate resolving differences and resentments through accusation and violence, as if Cain was right all along.

They promise an earthly Communist Utopia in the here and now, thereby exploiting the otherworldliness of Christianity and other religions that offer a reward for goodness in another, invisible world. Often well-meaning but naïve and misinformed people continue to follow the Pied Pipers of the Left because the evil in Cain’s materialist ideologies is cloaked in the guise of virtue, and their advocates claim to have the interests of all people at heart. But the promises of the beast are always belied by its actions: Marxism and Neo-Marxism have not created a single example of a peaceful, prosperous or just society.

This is the Hour of Decision

Evil has always been with us, but never before has it been as successfully embodied in ideology as it is in Marxism and Neo-Marxism. This, compounded by the fact that these theories cleverly disguise their true nature and intent, makes this moment more dangerous for the future of humanity than the rise of Nazi Germany or the establishment and expansion of the Soviet Empire. We have reached this critical point because of the civilized world’s naiveté or willful disregard for the imminence of the threat. As at the time of World War II, this is an hour of decision for the world—and especially for America, which continues to be the one nation on earth capable of withstanding and reversing the spread of Marxist ideology and power. Faced with this stark reality, it is time for the sleeping giant to awaken once more! We can no longer appease the beast.

To succeed, this task must be shared by all Abel-type people of faith and goodwill whose very existence is threatened by atheistic ideologies, just as Abel was threatened and murdered by Cain. There are some 4.3 billion
members of monotheistic religions whose (Biblical and Quranic) scriptures include (almost identical) accounts of Cain and Abel. All these and other people of conscience should be able to recognize the threat posed by evil
Cain-type theories and the movements inspired by them—and set aside what are ultimately petty differences to confront and overcome the common atheistic enemy. If allowed, this enemy will destroy our freedom and annihilate anyone who stands in its way. We must reject the seductions of the Left and work together to build a world in which every one of us can fulfill his or her true destiny under the mandate of Divine providence. This book sheds light on how that can be done.

Our Personal Responsibility

We contend that insufficient attention has been given to the importance of human responsibility in the shaping of providential history. As we will show, the providence advances when individuals fulfill their responsibilities and suffers setbacks when they fail to do so. The implication is clear: Divine providence is not dependent on God alone but on humanity participating in the realization of the Creator’s purpose. Thus we cannot simply wait for God to solve our problems.

In today’s world, our responsibility is to understand and confront the twin dangers of Leftist ideology and Communist China, to defeat the two-headed beast once and for all. Our response to their evil ideas and aggressive behavior must be spiritual and ideological as well as political. We have to reject their pernicious social justice agenda, with its wokism and “Cancel Culture,” and restore faith to its proper place at the center of society. And we have to do whatever we can to stop the Communist regime in China from persecuting its own people and from spreading its evil influence abroad. As President John F. Kennedy said in the closing words of his 1961 inaugural address:

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth, God’s work must truly be our own.

The importance of our personal responsibility in this work is articulated
well in a line attributed to John Stuart Mill: “The only thing necessary for the
triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” True as that is, it implies the broader meaning that we are advocating in this book:

The only thing necessary for the triumph of good is for men and women to fulfill their God-given responsibilities.