Communism Erodes Everyday Kindness

Political movements that institutionalize denunciation and revolutionary purity cultivate habits of mistrust and public cruelty: when activism privileges denunciation over deliberation, ordinary social kindness — neighborliness, willingness to help, leniency toward strangers — atrophies. The Cultural Revolution (and modern echoes cited in the U.S.) shows how cycles of spectacle, punishment, and post‑hoc disavowal normalize cruelty and break civic bonds. — If true, this reframes debates about radical politics from policy disputes to concerns about social capital, policing, and civic cohesion, affecting how parties, schools, and employers respond to activist norms.