If you think that cancel culture and social media deplatforming have gotten out of hand, you should know that those are only two examples of many strategies that the fascist left deploys to enforce its political orthodoxy.

Another such strategy, currently sweeping the country, takes coercive suppression of dissent to a whole new level. The model here comes straight out of the old Soviet Union’s playbook: use control over institutions to demand a continuous series of expressions of loyalty to the orthodoxy, and then to destroy the livelihood and career of anyone who refuses to comply.

This latest strategy, which has emerged at academic institutions, is to make so-called “antiracism” or Critical Race Theory or Social Justice training into a required course of study. Or better still, to make such training not only a single required course on its own, but also something integrated as a significant component into multiple courses, or even into every course. Then, have the course grades and evaluations be determined not just by the mastery of, say, calculus, but instead or also by the demonstrated willingness of the student to regurgitate and swear loyalty to the “antiracism” or Critical Race Theory or Social Justice orthodoxy. Fail to show sufficient enthusiasm as (for example) an “antiracist,” and you get humiliated in class, you receive grades of D or F in your courses, and finally you get labeled as a “racist” to all potential graduate schools and future employers.

The more I read about this, the more I am astounded at how far the strategy has progressed before many normal people realized what was happening or began to push back. The question is, is this really a strategy by which the left can achieve its final triumph, or are the left and the institutions in question in the process of committing suicide?

Last summer, in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and of the resurgence of “black lives matter” movement, Corporate America came forth with a massive wave of pledges to hire more black employees, especially for leadership positions.

If you, as a major corporation, had fewer than 13% black employees in any category of job titles, the obvious inference would that your efforts at “diversity, equity and inclusion” had thus far been deficient, and indeed you were likely engaged in “systemic racism,” if not “white supremacy.” Time to redouble your efforts at affirmative action.

For just a small sample of the large companies stepping forward with pledges to increase black and other minority employment, here is a roundup from Reuters last August. Reuters called the new hiring efforts a “watershed moment.”