Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words
Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words

Victor Davis Hanson: How Marxist Ideology Infiltrated American Classrooms

October 17, 2026

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5 min read

How Postmodernism Moved From French Philosophy to American Classrooms

Victor Davis Hanson traces a direct line from the humiliation of France in World War II to the classroom disruptions he experienced as a classics professor at California State University. The mechanism, he argues, is postmodernism — a philosophical framework that denies objective standards, treats all knowledge as socially constructed, and divides the world into oppressors and victims. What began as French literary theory in the 1960s filtered down through schools of education into K-12 classrooms, where it now shapes how teachers approach discipline, grading, and even language instruction.

The French Roots of a Cultural Revolution

Hanson identifies the core postmodern thinkers as Jacques Lacan, Jacques Derrida, and Michel Foucault — the latter of whom he notes was "the biggest booster of Khomeini." These philosophers emerged from a France that had suffered catastrophic defeat. The French army, which Churchill had considered the bulwark of Europe, collapsed in six weeks in 1940. France was occupied, humiliated, and ultimately liberated by the British and Americans. Then it lost its empire — Vietnam, its African possessions, and finally Algeria, the crown jewel.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:45) **The Core Thesis: Postmodernism as the Root** - Hanson introduces the central argument: the world divided between oppressors and oppressed originates from Marx filtered through postmodernism, which then infiltrates K-12 education through Schools of Education.
  • 2 (03:08) **Opening Segment & Iran War Strategy** - The episode begins with viewer questions on the Iran war, discussing the difficulty of arming dissidents and the strategic parallels to the Pacific campaign in WWII.
  • 3 (09:11) **The Challenge of an Iranian Uprising** - Hanson analyzes the prospects for a successful internal revolt in Iran, concluding it is unlikely without extreme economic pressure or a mutiny by the regular army.
  • 4 (11:08) **Political Context and the Midterm Election** - Hanson transitions to the U.S. political landscape, predicting a likely Republican setback in the midterms due to historical trends, but argues the long-term economic indicators are spectacular.
  • 5 (21:02) **Violence in Israel and the West Bank** - Hanson addresses a question about attacks on Christians by Orthodox Jews and the broader information war, defending Israel against accusations of genocide.
  • 6 (30:45) **Confronting Conspiracy Theories** - Hanson expresses frustration with the proliferation of conspiracy theories among his own audience, specifically the idea that Israel staged the October 7th attack.
  • 7 (37:36) **The Main Question: The Origin of Postmodernism** - Hanson answers the central question of the episode: where postmodernism came from and why it didn't emerge in the United States.

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Guests on this episode

Victor Davis Hanson

Show Notes

How did the ideas of European postmodernists like Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida find their way into American classrooms?


What began as an intellectual movement in postwar Europe eventually spread through American universities and into K–12 education, replacing traditional standards of truth, merit, and excellence with an obsession over oppressors and the oppressed.


Victor Davis Hanson traces the origins of postmodernism, its influence on American education, and the lasting damage he believes it has done to generations of students.


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Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words

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