Bezmenov and Gramscian zombies

I came across this old interview. How To Brainwash A Nation with G. Edward Griffin interviewing a Soviet defector, Yuri Bezmenov. It is so ham fisted that I looked up Griffin and discovered he was a member of the John Birch society, explaining the old-style Cold Warrior anti-communism evident in the interview.


Double click to enlarge.

Yuri Bezmenov identifies four stages of Soviet foreign policy to achieve subversion of the West.

Demoralization
Destabilization
Crisis
Normalization

Having grown up in the shadow of the Soviet Union, and seen their sophisticated interference with domestic policies and politics in Europe, and read some of the works of Antonio Gramsci, I have long been aware of the long-game Soviet strategy of subversion. I am unfamiliar with Bezmenov and therefore have no means of weighting his credibility.

I have wondered whether the seeds planted during the cold war of a Gramscian struggle of subversion through seizure of the cultural and communication heights of a society might explain the prevalence and unthinking acceptance of postmodernism, critical theory, social justice, multiculturalism and intersectionality in mainstream media, education, compliance bureaucracies, and entertainment. Are we suffering the continued effects of a zombie strategy from decades ago?

This interview from 1985 does not convince me that that is what has happened. On the other hand, it also does not allay any concerns. It is not clear to me how and in what meaningful way, things might appear different in our current circumstances based on whether there was a Gramscian strategy or not. It appears that we have a Gramscian effect, whether or not it is the consequence of a Soviet Gramscian strategy.