I attended the Socialism 2026 conference over Labor Day weekend in Chicago. @thestustustudio and I covered everything we saw on the livestream and in-person for @CityJournal. https://t.co/4R0RkmCK9R
@CityJournal@AidanGrogan I had a blast working with @AidanGrogan, from picking out the wildest panels beforehand to feeding him updates once he was inside.
This was the most fun I’ve ever had working on a story, and the final piece is an absolute blast to read. https://t.co/TsXkDeU97n
During one panel, a British Marxist writer delivered a talk on concepts such as "whorish artifice" and "transfeminist abolitionism."
She said that in order to "make socialism sexier," they needed to "spend more time naked together."
Another panelist then inquired about "the most important feature of a communist sex forest."
This is the most wild shit I've ever read.
Incredible reporting from @ManhattanInst’s @thestustustudio and @AidanGrogan in @CityJournal on the unadulterated insanity inside the 2026 Socialism conference.
https://t.co/YS6pQugh6M
Panelist A. J. Bohrer asked [Sophie] Lewis, “what’s the number one thing we can do to make socialism sexier?” Lewis replied: “Spend more time naked together.”
Bohrer followed up by inquiring about “the most important feature of a communist sex forest.”
@CityJournal, live from Socialism 2026:
https://t.co/lUU0jeXU2t
Last weekend, X lit up with Stu's clips from the Socialism 2026 conference.
What we didn't mention at the time is that @CityJournal's @AidanGrogan was also on the ground, attending the panels they *didn't* livestream.
read his and Stu's full report:
https://t.co/Nh2cLv5cb0
You’ve seen all the Socialism 2026 clips, but I neglected to tell you one important detail.
@CityJournal had an inside man on the ground.
While I was monitoring the livestreams, @AidanGrogan was inside the conference, sitting in on panels they never broadcast.
Aidan was subjected to family abolition workshops, discussions of “communist sex forests,” a literal crayon-coloring exercise during one panel, “transfeminist abolitionism,” and lectures about the “cis-sexist motherhood regime.”
Enjoy our full dispatch from Socialism 2026, combining what happened inside the conference with what the rest of us could only see on the livestream.
It was great to join the @GoodAMLiberty podcast with @joshmartens13 to discuss growing authoritarianism and polarization among Gen Z—and why young Americans must not take foundational principles such as the rule of law, property rights, and economic freedom for granted. https://t.co/bXtRMdWnD0
This was an obvious reference to eugenicist Madison Grant’s 1916 pseudo-scientific book “The Passing of the Great Race, Or The Racial Basis of European History.” Hitler quoted it frequently in his speeches, and it’s no wonder why:
“Mistaken regard for what are believed to be divine laws and a sentimental belief in the sanctity of human life tend to prevent both the elimination of defective infants and the sterilization of such adults as are themselves of no value to the community. The laws of nature require the obliteration of the unfit and human life is valuable only when it is of use to the community or race."
No Roman Catholic can support eugenics or Nazi race ideology, but I doubt any Groypers caught the reference.
Also, Madison Grant considered the “Nordic race” (Northern Europeans) the superior race—the “white man par excellence”—and designated other European groups, such as the “Alpine race” (Central and Eastern Europeans) and the “Mediterranean race” (Southern Europeans) as inferior. Thus, Fuentes, of Italian and Mexican descent, would not be considered a “white man par excellence,” according to Grant.
1/2 @AidanGrogan is an associate editor at @CityJournal, a senior contributor with @JoinYoungVoices, and a @FreeConTalk signatory.
In a recent piece for @CivitasOutlook, Grogan argued that his fellow members of Generation Z cannot afford to damage their country’s institutions and squander its legacy by embracing authoritarianism.
“From the Mamdani Left to the Groyper Right,” he wrote, “a growing number of young Americans have an appetite for collectivism and would dispense with foundational American principles such as the rule of law and economic freedom to advance their ideological vision. But as the United States contemplates its next quarter millennium, Gen Z must not take for granted the self-evident truths of our nation’s founding, lest we forfeit the rights, liberties, and opportunities we enjoy and exercise daily.”
“Many young Americans aren’t interested in the of compromise or civil discourse either,” Grogan observed. “Around 18- to 29-year-olds describe themselves as ‘extremely ideological,’ far surpassing older age cohorts, and believe political violence is sometimes acceptable. About of college students think it’s at least sometimes okay to shout down a speaker on campus.”
“Despite its historical and present-day flaws, America is the last best hope for freedom and the dignity of the individual,” he concluded. “Gen Z should be grateful and patriotic that it will inherit this free, prosperous nation that remains the envy of the world.
“As Zoomers assume leadership positions in business and government, they will face unprecedented challenges which will strain economic systems built upon models of endless population growth, along with mounting geopolitical tensions and realignments that may jeopardize America and its allies’ wealth, security, and global prestige. Overcoming these obstacles and sustaining the American way of life will require Gen Z to abandon its ideological silos and reaffirm its robust allegiance to liberty, the rule of law, and human dignity.” #FreeCon
This platform would bankrupt the country. Medicare and Social Security are already the main drivers of our debt and deficits. An immigration moratorium would result in a rapidly contracting workforce and therefore ever higher taxes pinned on younger Americans to pay for an increasingly generous and unsustainable entitlements system. And certainly no one would dare suggest raising the retirement age.
The Left has a dilemma: They support big-government programs like Medicare-for-all, free college, public pensions, and subsidized housing, yet they also promote girl-boss feminism, abortion, gay marriage, gender-affirming care, and anti-natalism more generally because of “climate change” and “patriarchy.” Who’s gonna build this woke, progressive future if they don’t have kids who will grow up to work and pay taxes to fund their expensive programs?
The overpopulation myth dates back even further than Homer—to ancient Mesopotamia. In the Atrahasis epic, the gods create mankind as a slave species, then send out a flood to destroy them due to overpopulation and noise pollution. https://t.co/OVBYtD37Wc
In my latest essay for @CivitasOutlook, I argue that young Americans should be grateful and patriotic to inherit the United States and not squander its legacy by embracing authoritarianism.