The right’s appropriation of left-wing tools, traditions, and mythologies is not accidental – it’s strategic. By borrowing the language, aesthetics, and tactics of progressive movements, conservative forces reshape the political and cultural landscape to their advantage.
This creates a real problem. When progressive ideas are mimicked and repurposed, their meaning gets diluted. What once pointed toward solidarity and social change can be flipped into something that reinforces the very systems it was meant to challenge.
If we want a different outcome, the left needs to respond actively, not reactively. That means taking responsibility for how our ideas live, spread, and get used.
Reclaim the narrative. We need to clearly and consistently articulate what we stand for: social justice, equality, and collective good. Not as vague values, but as lived, grounded practice. If we don’t tell our own story, others will tell it for us, badly.
Expose the contradictions. When right-wing movements steal progressive language, it’s often hollow. Calling this out matters. That means careful counter-messaging: not just shouting “hypocrisy,” but patiently showing how these narratives break down in practice, and who they actually serve.
Build culture, not just arguments. Politics isn’t only policy, it’s culture. Music, film, writing, art, these shape how people feel and understand the world. If we want lasting change, we need to create and support cultural work that reflects collective values, not just individual performance.
Organise at the roots. Nothing replaces grounded, face-to-face organising. Strong communities create resilience against manipulation and co-option. This means building trust, forming alliances, and supporting people to act together, not just as individuals reacting online.
Stay material, not abstract. Ideas matter, but so do outcomes. Advocacy for real-world change – economic justice, healthcare, climate action, and social equality – keeps movements anchored. Without this, politics drifts into branding and performance.
Practice critical self-reflection. We also need to look inward. Where are we reproducing the same patterns we criticise? Where are we excluding people or losing accountability? A living, open process – a #4opens approach – helps movements stay honest and adaptive.
In the end, this isn’t just about defending territory. It’s about making sure that the tools, language, and energy of social change actually lead somewhere different. If we don’t actively shape this, the risk is simple: the forms of the left survive, but the substance gets hollowed out, and quietly folded back into the logic of the #deathcult.
In an era of #climatechaos, we don’t have the luxury of letting that happen.
