Dr. Paul Kengor Exposes the Marxist Roots of International Women’s Day (March 8)
Dr. Paul Kengor, a Grove City College professor, best-selling author, and editor of The American Spectator, delivered a compelling lecture at the Luce Center on March 7, titled The Marxist Roots of International Women’s Day. Dr. Kengor revealed how this widely celebrated holiday—now endorsed by major corporations such as Google, McDonald’s, and other Fortune 500 companies, as well as colleges and universities worldwide—was originally created to advance communism by weakening the family. C-SPAN, which reaches over 90 million households, recorded the event, and X carried it LIVE.
The Radical Origins of International Women’s Day
Dr. Kengor began his talk by tracing the roots of International Women’s Day back to socialist movements in the early 20th century. He highlighted the key figures behind the holiday, particularly Alexandra Kollontai and Clara Zetkin, both influential Marxist activists.
Kollontai, a prominent Bolshevik, saw the day as an opportunity to mobilize women for the socialist cause. She emphasized that the holiday’s primary goal was to promote the “victory of communism and complete equality of women, ” which she understood as one and the same. She explained: “The worker-mother must learn not to differentiate between yours and mine. [She] must remember that there are only our children, the children of Russia’s communist workers…. Communist society will take upon itself all the duties involved in the education of the child.”
Zetkin, a German socialist, introduced the concept of an annual women’s day at the 1910 International Socialist Women’s Congress, arguing that it should be used to advance socialist principles.
Lenin’s Strategy to Dismantle the Family
A major theme of Dr. Kengor’s remarks was the role of the Soviet Union in institutionalizing International Women’s Day. He cited historical records showing that after the Bolshevik Revolution, Vladimir Lenin officially recognized March 8 as a national holiday in 1922, a move meant to align women’s rights with Soviet state policies.
He explained that in Marxist ideology, the family was seen as an institution of bourgeois oppression that needed to be dismantled for the socialist revolution to succeed. Quoting directly from The Communist Manifesto, Dr. Kengor underscored how Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels viewed the abolition of the family as a necessary step in achieving a classless society.
“Abolition of the family! Even the most radical flare up at this infamous proposal of the Communists,” Marx and Engels wrote in 1848. He detailed how communist regimes sought to push women out of traditional family roles and into state-controlled workplaces, promoting the idea that children should be raised collectively rather than within the nuclear family.
The Soviet War on Marriage, Parenthood, and Education
Dr. Kengor delved into how socialist and communist movements historically worked to redefine the concept of the family. He referenced Engels’ book, The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State (1884), in which Engels argued that the traditional family structure was an oppressive system that had to be eradicated. Engels wrote, “With the transfer of the means of production into common ownership, the single family ceases to be the economic unit of society. Private housekeeping is transformed into a social industry. The care and education of the children becomes a public affair; society looks after all children alike.”
Following the Bolshevik Revolution, Soviet leaders immediately implemented radical policies to weaken traditional family structures. Lenin’s regime legalized abortion in 1920—making the Soviet Union the first country in the world to do so—while also making divorce easily accessible, allowing either spouse to dissolve a marriage with a simple request. It outlawed homeschooling and private education, requiring all children to attend state-run schools where they were indoctrinated with communist ideology. It took full control of child-rearing, aiming to replace parental influence with loyalty to the state. Meanwhile, Soviet propaganda celebrated communism’s “liberation” of women from domestic roles, ensuring their full participation in the workforce under state control.
Modern Parallels: How Today’s Feminism Echoes Marxist Ideals
Shifting to contemporary debates, Dr. Kengor compared historical Marxist perspectives on gender roles to modern feminist movements. He pointed out that while early communists sought to abolish the nuclear family, today’s left-wing activists often echo similar themes, advocating for policies that downplay traditional family structures in favor of state-controlled solutions. He also touched upon the role of organizations like Planned Parenthood and progressive advocacy groups in pushing these agendas.
Dr. Kengor challenged modern claims—such as those in The New York Times article “Why Women Had Better Sex Under Socialism”—that communism benefits women, arguing that such narratives ignore historical and common sense realities. Under Soviet rule, women were often forced to work grueling, hazardous, state-mandated jobs while enduring high rates of domestic violence and abortion without regard for their physical, emotional, or spiritual health.
From Class Warfare to Culture Wars: The Expansion of Marxist Ideology
Expanding his analysis, Dr. Kengor explored how Marxist ideas have shifted from economic class struggles to cultural and gender identity battles. He discussed how today’s left-wing movements use the same framework of “oppressor versus oppressed” but now apply it to race, gender, and sexuality rather than economic class. He cited figures such as Angela Davis, a former Communist Party USA leader, as well as contemporary activists who embrace Marxist rhetoric in gender and race debates.
Clare Boothe Luce: A Champion Against Communism
Dr. Kengor concluded his speech by paying tribute to Clare Boothe Luce as a staunch anti-communist. He detailed her influential career as a playwright, journalist, and diplomat who fiercely opposed communist ideology. Luce, a devout Catholic convert, worked closely with figures like Archbishop Fulton Sheen to counter Marxist narratives and defend traditional American values.
He also shared a little-known story about Luce’s attempt to produce a Hollywood film about Claudia, the wife of Pontius Pilate. According to Dr. Kengor, Howard Hughes purchased the screenplay but shelved it, preventing its release. He suggested that revisiting Luce’s legacy could provide important lessons in countering modern-day cultural Marxism.
The Ongoing Battle: Key Takeaways and Audience Questions
Dr. Kengor’s lecture was followed by a Q&A session, during which attendees asked about current international efforts to redefine gender roles and motherhood. He highlighted ongoing negotiations at the United Nations to remove references to “mother” and “motherhood” from official documents, seeing this as a continuation of the Marxist agenda to reshape family structures.
He concluded by emphasizing that the ideological battle over the family and gender roles has been ongoing for over 200 years. This is a revolution that has gone on for centuries,” he warned, urging the audience to educate themselves on the ideological foundations of movements like International Women’s Day.
An Evening of Insight and Intellectual Engagement
This special occasion marked the launch of the Luce Center’s new membership initiative and President’s Club event series, designed to foster camaraderie and intellectual engagement among conservatives and increase support for national outreach and leadership programs.
Courageous Women Speakers Inspire College Audiences and Future Leaders
In her acclaimed book, How to Raise a Conservative Daughter, Michelle Easton, founder and longtime president of the Luce Center, writes that colleges and universities serve as the “indoctrination incubator for wave upon wave of activists who graduate and move into media, government, education, law, and other influential institutions.”
“The good news,” she offers, “is that we can fight—with grace and integrity.”
Two courageous women, Paula Scanlan and Seohyun Lee, personified this message when they spoke on college campuses in March, inspiring students with their personal stories of standing up for truth despite fierce opposition.