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Marijuana

2021-08-12T02:58:29Z

Mercaa: basic adding of nicknames of kushhie

[[Image:Marijuana.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Indoor Marijuana Grow (DEA photo)]]
'''Marijuana''' (also spelled '''marihuana''', and colloquially known as "chronic", "ganja", "joint", "kush", "pot", "reefer", "hash", "420", "airplane", "ace", "bud", "that dank", "stank", "doobie", "sticky icky", "[[nixon]]", "spliff", "cannabis" and "weed") is the name given to the flowering buds of the ''Cannabis'' genus of plant, divided into the species ''Sativa, Indica'' and ''Ruderalis'', prepared for human consumption. The main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana is [[tetrahydrocannabinol|THC]], or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, an [[organic chemistry|organic chemical]] compound which imitates natural cannabinoids produced in the human body. Because THC is considered harmful, marijuana is generally illegal to possess, cultivate and sell in most countries, although it is "legal" in some [[liberal]] states.<ref>The sale of marijuana is illegal virtually everywhere in the world (other than Uruguay, and as of mid-2018 Canada), and results in long prison sentences in many places. In Portugal, Argentina, California and South Australia, the use (rather than the sale) of small quantities of marijuana is allowed. In the United States it remains illegal under federal law, though the law is generally enforced only when dealing with large quantities indicating intent to distribute.</ref> In some extremely liberal jurisdictions, you can even buy it in a vending machine.<ref>E.g. [[Seattle]]</ref>

'''''Marijuana is a highly addictive drug that causes short-term memory loss, malaise, psychosis in predisposed individuals, violence and violent fits, as well as impairment of physical and mental functioning'''''. Studies confirm and even defenders of marijuana admit that it causes violent paranoia.<ref>"Smoking Marijuana makes you Violent. Paranoia, a natural thought process that all humans will experience at one time or another, is often experienced by heavy smokers more often than non smokers." [https://listwand.com/top-7-reasons-you-should-run-away-from-marijuana-weed/]</ref> Marijuana use may contribute to a rise in brain tumors. While some pretend that cannabis has "medicinal" benefits (see [[Medical marijuana]]), many scientists debunk that fiction and observe that there are numerous federally approved medicines for the diseases that "medicinal" marijuana has been used to treat. Marijuana consumption impairs one's ability to drive, thereby creating enormous hazards on the road.

The media downplays or even conceals the role of marijuana in murders that result from extreme paranoia. There were many media reports about the brutal random murder of the 22-year-old rookie police officer Natalie Corona in Davis, [[California]] in January 2019, by Kevin Douglas Limbaugh, a white man aged 48. The toxicology report on Limbaugh showed that he had THC in his blood, which demonstrates his marijuana use.<ref>https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/opinion/2019/04/17/dont-ignore-mental-illness-ties-marijuana/3491146002/</ref> Yet media reports about the murderer's marijuana use are very hard to find.

A study from New Zealand conducted in part by researchers at Duke University showed that people who started smoking marijuana heavily in their teens and had an ongoing marijuana use disorder lost an average of 8 IQ points between ages 13 and 38. The lost mental abilities didn't fully return in those who quit marijuana as adults. Those who started smoking marijuana as adults didn't show notable IQ declines. <ref>https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana</ref>

As of early 2019, only two countries have legalized recreational use of marijuana, as in 2013 socialist [[Uruguay]] legalized the drug, and [[Canada]], under Trudeau's Liberal Party, legalized marijuana in October 2018. In the United States, nine states have "legalized" the recreational use of marijuana: Alaska, California, Colorado, Oregon, Massachusetts, Maine, Nevada, Vermont and Washington, along with Washington D.C., but not all allow sales of marijuana. All but three conservative states have either decriminalized marijuana or allowed limited medical usage for specific medical conditions. However, due to the Supremacy Clause, federal law, under which marijuana is illegal, overrules those states which have legalized or decriminalized, so their "legalization" is only de facto effective to the degree to which the federal government refrains from enforcing federal law.

==Legal history==
===United States===
Marijuana was first restricted in the United States on the federal level in 1937, with [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]'s signing of the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act.<ref name="Kidd1970">{{cite book|author=Jeannette Kidd|title=Marihuana Tax Act of 1937: Its Causes and Effects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DStZAAAAMAAJ|year=1970|publisher=University of Wisconsin--Madison|page=57}}</ref> On May 19, 1969, the Supreme Court declared the Marihuana Tax Act unconstitutional due to illegal self-incrimination, a violation of the Fifth Amendment, in the case of Leary v. United States.<ref>https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/395/6/#tab-opinion-1948101</ref> As a result, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Controlled Substances Act on October 27, 1970, renewing the ban on marijuana.<ref>https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/21usc/811.htm</ref> From 1973 to 1978, several US states "decriminalized" marijuana, meaning that they would not enforce state laws against minor marijuana use and possession. This began with Oregon, and was joined with Alaska, California, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Nebraska.<ref name="Dufton2017">{{cite book|author=Emily Dufton|title=Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qo6YDgAAQBAJ|date=5 December 2017|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0-465-09617-6}}</ref> In 1996 in California, a voter referendum legalized the use of marijuana for medical usages, allowing it to be used for any condition for which a patient presented a doctor's recommendation.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Balzar|first1=John|title=Voters Approve Measure to Use Pot as Medicine|url=http://articles.latimes.com/print/1996-11-06/news/mn-62740_1_voters-approve-measure|accessdate=February 9, 2018|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 6, 1996}}</ref> [[Arizona]] also passed a medical cannabis ballot measure, but it was rendered ineffective on a technicality.<ref>{{citation|title=State-By-State Medical Marijuana Laws|url=https://www.mpp.org/issues/medical-marijuana/state-by-state-medical-marijuana-laws/state-by-state-medical-marijuana-laws-report/|publisher=Marijuana Policy Project|date=December 2016}}</ref> Other states followed, and in 2014 Utah became the first state to legalize only some derivatives of marijuana, not the full drug itself.<ref>{{cite news|title=First-of-its-kind medical marijuana law signed in Utah|url=https://www.rt.com/usa/utah-charlees-law-marijuana-409/|accessdate=February 10, 2018|work=RT|date=March 26, 2014}}</ref> In 2012, Washington and Colorado "legalized" recreational marijuana by voter initiative;<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/11/07/psychological-impact-legalizing-marijuana.html</ref> by early 2018 the number of recreational legal states reached nine with the addition of Vermont.<ref>https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vermont-marijuana/vermont-senate-passes-bill-to-legalize-marijuana-use-idUSKBN1EZ2KS</ref>

Marijuana is a [[Schedule I]] [[Controlled Substance]] in the United States of America, meaning that it is illegal under federal law of the United States, and considered to have no redeemable medical value. According to the FBI, in 2012, there were 658,000 arrests for marijuana possession compared with 256,000 for cocaine, heroin and their derivatives.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/high-time-marijuana-legalization.html?_r=0|title=Repeal Prohibition, Again|work=New York Times|date=July 26, 2014|accessdate=July 27, 2014}}</ref>

Many liberals have advocated for decriminalization, including National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Policy Project, and Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.<ref>[http://www.leap.cc Law Enforcement Against Prohibition]</ref><ref>http://www.lp.org/issues/lp-oss.shtml</ref> On July 26, 2014, the ''New York Times'' published an editorial calling for removing federal controls over marijuana for people 21 and older, leaving the question to individual states.<ref name=nyt/> Many [[American]] [[conservative]]s, especially social conservatives, oppose legalization of marijuana in any form due to its perceived harmful medical and psychological effects and its likelihood of harm to third parties due to drug-related crime and reckless driving. A few libertarian-leaning conservatives, most notably [[Ron Paul]], [[William F. Buckley]], and [[Larry Elder]], have advocated the decriminalization of this drug. Some [[liberal]]s support legalization, but most instead advocate for drug treatment and rehabilitation. [[Libertarian]]s are usually the biggest supporters of marijuana legalization. [[Gary Johnson]], a former Republican and 2012 Libertarian Party Presidential candidate for president, is the highest ranking US politician to advocate for marijuana legalization. He was a two-term Governor of [[New Mexico]].

Legalization on a Federal level is virtually impossible, since the United States was a major leader in the international treaty known as the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs<ref>[url=https://www.unodc.org/pdf/convention_1961_en.pdf]</ref> of 1970. Said treaty is defined by the Constitution as carrying equal weight to an Amendment to the Constitution; therefore, the only way marijuana could ever be legal on a Federal level is if we withdrew from a treaty of our own creation as a prerequisite to legalization.

The [[H.R. 3884|Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act]] was passed through the U.S. House of Representatives on December 4th, 2020. Passage in the Senate is very unlikely.

===Overseas===
The [[Netherlands]] decriminalized the use of marijuana in 1976. As a result, marijuana use among the 18-25 age group doubled, however, despite its availability, marijuana use in the Netherlands is lower than the European average. The Netherlands also saw an influx of "drug tourists" and other undesirables, as well as an increase in crime. In 2013, the government of the Netherlands enacted a new toleration rule regarding the use of marijuana in order to combat drug tourism, essentially restricting access of marijuana to citizens<ref>https://www.government.nl/topics/drugs/toleration-policy-regarding-soft-drugs-and-coffee-shops</ref>. Crime has since leveled out, leaving the Netherlands with one of the lowest crime rates in Europe until recently<ref>https://www.osac.gov/Country/Netherlands/Content/Detail/Report/5854ae95-5573-449f-a294-1865caaef8ae</ref>.

In several countries, particularly in [[Western Europe]], cannabis use has been decriminalized. However, in many other countries, particularly those in the Middle East and Asia, possession of even small amounts of cannabis can be punishable by death.

In 2013, Uruguay initiated nationwide legalization of recreational marijuana, becoming the first developed nation to do so in the modern era.<ref name="FijnautRuyver2015">{{cite book|author1=Cyrille J.C.F. Fijnaut|author2=Brice de Ruyver|title=The Third Way: A Plea for a Balanced Cannabis Policy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCdACgAAQBAJ&pg=PA57|date=24 July 2015|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-29319-9|pages=57–}}</ref> Canada legalized recreational cannabis in October 2018, allowing "pot shops" that sold marijuana under the ruse of "medicinal" purposes to drop the pretense and begin selling marijuana openly for recreational purposes.

In December 2020, the United Nations voted to reclassify marijuana from the most restrictive Schedule IV classification (equivalent to the US Schedule I) to the less restrictive U.N. Schedule I, indicating that marijuana has a valid medicinal value, while still being highly addictive<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/world/europe/cannabis-united-nations-drug-policy.html</ref>. Should liberals have their way, this opens the window for the U.S. to classify marijuana as Schedule II without violating the Single Convention.

==Adverse effects==
[[File:Brain abnormalities of marijuana user.jpg|thumbnail|Areas of the brain negatively effected by THC]]
Marijuana contains many of the same carcinogens as tobacco, and some research suggests that when smoked, it shares the same risk of lung cancer<ref>[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615095940.htm Science Daily 6/9/2009]</ref> If smoked, marijuana also leads to a temporary increase in heart rate and blood pressure resulting is a slight increase in the risk for heart related problems including heart attack.<ref>[http://www.askmen.com/sports/health/20_mens_health.html AskMen: Benefits of Marijuana]</ref> Chronic smokers often suffer from mild withdrawal symptoms, however marijuana is not believed to be physically addictive.<ref>[http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-teenage-mind/201012/is-marijuana-addictive Psychology Today: Is Marijuana Addictive?]</ref> Marijuana can impair judgment, motor skills, and balance.<ref>[http://www.acde.org/common/Marijana.htm]</ref> Prenatal exposure to marijuana has also been linked to impaired learning and developmental disability in children.<ref>[http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v31/n10/full/1301068a.html Neuropsycopharmacology: High-Potency Marijuana Impairs Executive Function and Inhibitory Motor Control]</ref> If marijuana is consumed heavily and on a daily basis by children around the age of 12 for a period of years, even liberal scientists have been forced to conclude that humans have a 1/4th random chance of developing psychosis, based on a random genetic trait.<ref>[http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/schizophrenia/cannabis-psychosis-link] The Cannabis-Psychosis Link</ref> However, all of these adverse effects, which have been the motivation for making recreational use of marijuana illegal, are typically ignored by the liberal advocates of recreational marijuana use, who use deceitful and dismissive arguments (including the creation, publication and use of fraudulent "studies" which claim to "debunk" the science proving the negative effects of marijuana, without offering any legitimate proof behind their "debunking" claims) against keeping marijuana use illegal to justify its use and are motivated both by politics and simply by doing what they want at the expense of public health and safety.<ref name="pot debate">[https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/marijuana-legalization-debate-prompts-a-new-high-in-democratic-hypocrisy Marijuana legalization debate prompts a new high in Democratic hypocrisy] at Fox News</ref><ref>[https://canadafreepress.com/article/legalize-marijuana-be-careful-what-you-wish-for Legalize Marijuana? Be Careful What You Wish For!] at [[Canada Free Press]]</ref>

===Crime===
The [[liberal media]] typically downplay or completely ignore the role of marijuana in [[Young mass murderers|mass killings]], horrific accidents, and other types of harm to innocent people victimized by users of the drug. For example, authorities conceal from the public how much marijuana was in the system of "College Weed Dealer" [[Young mass murderers|Dzhokhar Tsarnaev]] when he went on his killing rampage.<ref>http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/04/dzhokhar-tsarnaev-dealing-drugs/64529/</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://canadafreepress.com/article/can-marijuana-fuel-jihad|title=Can Marijuana Fuel Jihad?|last=Kincaid|first=Cliff|date=|newspaper=Canada Free Press|access-date=February 17, 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|language=en|via=}}</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, which has often featured musicians who abuse drugs, put Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on its July 13, 2013 cover. The magazine's article described him as "a dedicated pot smoker" and local dealer who "always had big Tupperware containers of weed in his fridge." <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/jahars-world-20130717|title=Jahar: The Making of a Monster|last=Reitman|first=Janet|date=July 17, 2013|newspaper=Rolling Stone|access-date=February 17, 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref>

The current trend of marijuana becoming legal on the state level has lead to increased supply in the United States, which in turn has lead to Mexican drug cartels choosing to switch to heroin and methamphetamine, both far deadlier drugs, due to marijuana commanding a lesser profit margin.<ref>https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/02/20/mexican-cartels-switch-gears-after-u-s-states-relax-u-s-states-legalize-marijuana-mexicos-cartels-sw/343389002/</ref><ref>https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Heroin#section=Human-Toxicity-Values</ref><ref>https://inhomelandsecurity.com/mexican-cartels-marijuana-profit</ref><ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3145326/</ref>

==Medical benefits==
Advocates of marijuana claim that the active ingredient in marijuana, [[Tetrahydrocannabinol|THC]], has been shown to produce some short-term psychological and medicinal "benefits", which are probably more than offset by the medical harm. For example, Harvard University conducted a study on the effect of Δ-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol on certain lung cancers, claiming that THC might help reduce a lung cancer tumor size by as much as half.<ref>[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070417193338.htm Science Daily 4/7/2007]</ref> In addition to a significant reduction in tumor size, there was a reduction in lesions on the lungs by 60%, and a reduction in protein markers associated with the progression of cancer.<ref>[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070417193338.htm Science Daily 4/17/2007]</ref>

Marijuana is used to relieve symptoms experienced by patients afflicted with [[amyotrophic lateral sclerosis|ALS]].<ref>[http://ajh.sagepub.com/content/18/4/264.short American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine]</ref>

Marijuana is an [[antispasmodic]] and [[anticonvulsant]] is used in the treatment of seizures.<ref>[http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9586&page=106 National Academies Press: Marijuana and muscle spasticity]</ref> Marijuana is also used in the treatment of migraines, arthritis,<ref>[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/art.1780090304/abstract Online Library: Treatment of adjuvant arthritis in rats with anti-inflammatory drugs]</ref> depression,<ref name="interestingfacts.org">[http://www.interestingfacts.org/fact/facts-about-marijuana Interesting Facts: Facts about marijuana]</ref> and glaucoma. However the effect of marijuana on intraocular pressure (IOC) is not as effective as those offered by other drugs on the market.<ref>[http://www.nei.nih.gov/news/statements/marij.asp National Eye Institue: Glaucoma and Marijuana use]</ref> In states where marijuana is legal (either completely or via medication), parents of young children have been known to seek out strains that are high in Cannabidiol (CBD) and low in THC; Cannabidiol is known to counteract the "high" of THC, and is believed to be the cause of the anti-seizure effects when consumed.

There have not been many in-depth and widely distributed studies into the possible medicinal effects of marijuana. However, with political pressure from [[liberal]]  advocates of marijuana, more accredited institutions are conducting research on the drug.

Despite state legality, physicians are reluctant to prescribe "medicinal" marijuana fearing it may jeopardize their DEA license to prescribe controlled substances.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/810356|title=Medical Marijuana: The Imperative of Educating Physicians|last=Schatman|first=Michael|date=September 6, 2013|website=Medscape|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> "Medicinal" marijuana is used by physicians as a last-resort in states where it is legal or semi-legal (under state law), but also misused by people who simply want to get high. "Medicinal" marijuana, however well-intentioned and beneficial, will also lead to abuses in that system.

===Marinol===
''Marinol'' (a brand formulation of dronabinol)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.drugscience.org/Archive/bcr3/n3_Marinol.html|title=The Bulletin of Cannabis Reform|website=www.drugscience.org|access-date=2017-02-17}}</ref> is a schedule III controlled substance, approved for relief of nausea and vomiting in persons undergoing cancer chemotherapy and to improve appetite in persons with AIDS. It is dispensed in gelatin capsules containing synthetic Δ-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol dissolved in sesame oil. Liberals advocating "medicinal" marijuana do their best to ignore this drug. A 1998 survey of physicians, addiction specialists and police demonstrated no evidence or concern about the abuse, dependence or diversion of Marinol.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Calhoun|first=S. R.|last2=Galloway|first2=G. P.|last3=Smith|first3=D. E.|date=1998-04-01|title=Abuse potential of dronabinol (Marinol)|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=9692381|journal=Journal of Psychoactive Drugs|volume=30|issue=2|pages=187–196|doi=10.1080/02791072.1998.10399689|issn=0279-1072|pmid=9692381}}</ref> About this time, the DEA moved the drug from schedule II to the less restrictive schedule III.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/fed_regs/rules/1998/fr1105.htm|title=Proposed Rules - 1998 - Schedules of Controlled Substances: Rescheduling of Synthetic Dronabinol (Martinol®; (-)-Δ9-(trans)-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Sesame oil and Encapsulated in Soft Gelatin Capsules) From Schedule II to Schedule III.|website=www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov|language=en-US|access-date=2017-02-17}}</ref>

===Cannabidiol (CBD)===
CBD is chemically extracted from the cannabis plant. It is legal in most states, and its oil has been proven to be effective in certain cases of epilepsy and insomnia. So far, any other effects have been demonstrated to be snake-oil. While CBD itself is safe, oils claiming to contain CBD are currently unregulated by the FDA.<ref>https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cannabidiol-cbd-what-we-know-and-what-we-dont-2018082414476</ref>

== Atheism, marijuana usage and amotivational syndrome ==
*[[Atheism and amotivational syndrome]] (Marijuana usage is associated with amotivational syndrome)

==Tax revenue==
Marijuana advocates, ignoring the adverse health, cultural, and societal effects of legalized marijuana, point to increased tax revenue in states where it is legal and heavily taxed.<ref>https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewdepietro/2018/05/04/how-much-money-states-make-cannabis-sales/#19f8144af181</ref> Colorado alone has made over $1 billion in tax revenue over the course of its five years of legalization, roughly the same amount that the seven states where marijuana is both legal and taxed made in 2018.<ref>https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/colorado-made-1b-in-marijuana-tax-revenue-what-could-this-mean-for-federal-legalization</ref><ref>https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2019/03/26/which-states-made-the-most-tax-revenue-from-marijuana-in-2018-infographic/#6f3f0bc17085</ref>

==Trivia==
*[[Carl Sagan]] used recreational marijuana to help "open his mind".<ref>[http://boingboing.net/2009/10/07/carl-sagan-spaced-ou.html Boing Boing: Carl Sagan Spaced Out]</ref>
*Cannabis was first cultivated in China around 4000 B.C.<ref name="interestingfacts.org"/>
*U.S. [[Declaration of Independence]] was not written on hemp paper, despite popular belief by liberals.<ref>[http://www.usconstitution.net/constfaq_q145.html Constitutional FAQ Answer #145 - U.S. Constitution Online]</ref>
*[[George Washington]] grew marijuana.<ref>[http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepresidentandcabinet/a/gwtheman.htm The President and the Cabinet: George Washington the Man]</ref>
*An average human will pass out after consuming 1/14 of the LD-50 of weed, which is why no overdoses have ever been reported. Driving while high, however, is extremely dangerous.<ref>[https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/drugged-driving]</ref>
*[[Barack Hussein Obama|Barack Obama]] has admitted to use of marijuana. Former President [[Bill Clinton]] has also admitted to smoking marijuana, but claims that he "did not inhale". Former President [[George W. Bush]] privately admitted to smoking marijuana, but stated he wouldn't state it publicly "'Cause I don't want some little kid doing what I tried."
*Marijuana was originally a slang name, and as such, it is the only drug to be legally defined by its slang name
*Industrial marijuana was briefly made legal in World War II in order to keep up with the demand of rope, canvas and other materials traditionally made from hemp<ref>https://ministryofhemp.com/blog/hemp-for-victory-disappear</ref>
*Marijuana is called "weed" because it grows like one- heterogeneous marijuana grows in every part of the world except for the Arctic poles. In the United States, one can report the accidental growth of marijuana on ones' property to law enforcement without fear of criminal penalty
*Like many plants, marijuana was selectively bred over the course of millennia in order to increase its potency. Primitive marijuana plants, if smoked, would induce a headache rather than the desired "high"

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Drugs]]
[[Category:Illegal Substances]]
[[Category:Illegal Drugs]]
[[Category:Hollywood Values]]

Cultural Marxism

2021-08-12T02:54:43Z

Mercaa: changed the definition from fake news to facts and logic

[[File:Gramsci.png|thumb|200px|Antonio Gramsci]]
'''Cultural Marxism''' is a conspiracy theory first made by the [[nazi]] party under the name cultural bolshevism. '''Cultural Marxism''' says that there are groups of Marxists trying to undermine [[Western Civilization]].

The central idea of Cultural Marxism is to soften up and prepare [[Western Civilization]] for [[economic]] Marxism after a gradual, relentless, sustained attack on every institution of Western culture,<ref>Ludwig, E. Jeffrey (October 23, 2019). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/communist-influences-are-destroying-the-us-faster-and-faster Communist influences are destroying the US, faster and faster]. ''LifeSiteNews''. Retrieved October 23, 2019.</ref> including schools,<ref>Svab, Petr (November 25, 2019). [https://www.theepochtimes.com/school-programs-mixed-with-social-marxism-spread-through-america_3152761.html School Programs Mixed With Social Marxism Spread Through America]. ''The Epoch Times''. Retrieved November 25, 2019.</ref> literature, art, film, the [[Judeo-Christian]] worldview tradition, [[marriage]] and the [[Destroying the family|family]],<ref>Solway, David (August 23, 2018). [https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/karl-marx-hated-marriage-and-marxism-is-marriages-enemy Karl Marx hated marriage, and Marxism is marriage’s enemy]. ''LifeSiteNews'' (from the ''American Thinker''). Retrieved August 28, 2018.</ref> sexual mores, [[War on Sovereignty|national sovereignty]], etc.<ref>cf. The tendency of dictatorial ideologies to influence public institutions etc. so that these would serve their agendas is termed as [[Gleichschaltung]].<br>
See also:
*Warner, Gerald (February 4, 2015). [https://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/02/04/for-the-first-time-in-history-conservatives-are-at-the-forefront-of-the-cultural-revolution/ For the First Time in History, ‘Conservatives’ Are at the Forefront of the Cultural Revolution]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
:"By the post-War era the Cultural Marxist programme had a wide-reaching agenda of destruction. It aimed to destroy the family, denying the specific roles of the father and mother, and advocated the teaching of sex and homosexuality to children; mobilisation of women as revolutionaries against men, through aggressive feminism; large-scale immigration to abolish national identity; dependency on the state and state benefits; control and infantilisation of the media."</ref> The attacks are usually framed in Marxist terms as a class struggle between oppressors and oppressed; the members of the latter class allegedly include women, minorities, homosexuals, and adherents of non-Western ideologies such as Islam. Cultural Marxism has been described as "the cultural branch of [[globalism]]."<ref>[https://www.westernmastery.com/2017/03/23/cultural-marxism-is-the-1-enemy-of-western-civilization/ Cultural Marxism is the #1 Enemy of Western Civilization]. ''Western Mastery''. March 23, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2017.</ref>

While Marx's ''[[Communist Manifesto]]'' focused on the alleged class struggle between bourgeois (owners of the means of production) and proletariat (workers), Marx did address culture, which he intimated would change after his economic vision was implemented. [[Patrick Buchanan]] argues that Cultural Marxism succeeded where Marx failed.<ref>[http://cnsnews.com/blog/grant-m-dahl/buchanan-cultural-marxism-has-succeeded-where-marx-and-lenin-failed Buchanan: ‘Cultural Marxism’ Has Succeeded Where Marx and Lenin Failed], [[CNSNews]]</ref> Marxism has permeated the American Left.<ref>Kirk, Charlie (September 27, 2020). [https://humanevents.com/2020/09/26/far-from-being-dead-true-marxism-is-very-much-alive/ Far From Being “Dead,” True Marxism Is Very Much Alive.] ''Human Events''. Retrieved September 27, 2020.</ref>

Among cultural Marxists, the book ''[[Dialectic of Enlightenment]]'' is considered to be a central text.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/08/frankfurt-school-dialectic-of-enlightenment The Frankfurt school, part 3: Dialectic of Enlightenment ]</ref><ref>''Dialectic of Enlightenment'' was written in 1944 by Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer</ref>

An effective way for cultural Marxists to influence the culture is to infiltrate schools and indoctrinate students, which the [[Democratic Socialists of America]] explicitly endorsed in 2018.<ref>Newman, Alex (August 29, 2018). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/education/item/29907-socialists-urge-infiltration-of-government-schools Socialists Urge Infiltration of Government Schools]. ''The New American''. Retrieved August 29, 2018.<br>See also:
*Newman, Alex (February 6, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/print-magazine/item/31250-education-s-future-globalization-of-indoctrination Education’s Future: Globalization of Indoctrination]. ''The New American''. Retrieved February 6, 2019.</ref>

==History==

===Marx, Engels and Lenin on culture===
The cultural views of [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]] were, in general, different from those of the 20th century Cultural Marxists. Marx and Engels were proponents of [[Realism]] in the arts and culture. They maintained that any honest artist who longs for truth and is guided by sincere ethics, would end up portraying the grueling realities of [[capitalism]] realistically without having to be a [[socialism|socialist]]. They give the example of their contemporary French writer [[Honoré de Balzac]], who, despite being a staunch [[monarchy|monarchist]], his realist literary works laid bare the immorality of 19th century capitalist relations of production and thus Balzac's work is of great value to progressives even though his personal ideology was conservative. Engels called this the "Triumph of Realism" (Sieg des Realismus), explaining that Balzac's sincere ethics and the fact that his heart longed for truth and objectivity inevitably made him a realist critic of capitalist exploitation in his literature, although his personal political alignment always remained [[conservatism|conservative]]. According to Engels: <blockquote>Balzac boldly exposed the contradiction of nascent capitalist society and hence his observation of reality constantly clashed with his political prejudices. But as an honest artist he always depicted only what he himself saw, learned and underwent, concerning himself not at all whether his-true-to-life description of the things he saw contradicted his pet ideas.<ref>https://www.academia.edu/28848230/Two_Balzacs_Two_Gogols_Two_Tolstoys</ref></blockquote>

Engels declared that Balzac was his favorite writer. Marx's Das Kapital also makes some references to the works of Balzac.

[[Vladimir Lenin]] was also a proponent of Realism and stressed its superiority over [[Modernism]]. He considered [[Leo Tolstoy]] to be the most effective depicter of the everyday life of Russian peasants, even though Tolstoy was a nobleman. Lenin once wrote to [[Maxim Gorky]]: "Until this Count, we had no real peasant in our literature."<ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/gorky-maxim/1924/lenin-the_man.html</ref> Here too, the personal merit of Tolstoy as an author, to Lenin, is not the superlative genius of Tolstoy that enabled him to represent both the Russian [[Kulak|Kulaks]] as well as the Russian Muzhiks so effectively. Ultimately it was the compulsion for truthful representation that made Tolstoy do so.<ref>https://www.academia.edu/28848230/Two_Balzacs_Two_Gogols_Two_Tolstoys</ref>

Both the thesis of Marx-Engels on Balzac and that of Lenin on Tolstoy hold that it is the conditions of the class struggle which determine those of the cultural struggle, not vice versa (for it was the advent of French capitalism in Balzac's case and the fight of Russian peasants for emancipation in Tolstoy's case that "woke up" the two authors and oriented them towards social realism), and thus the cultural struggle must be subordinate to the class struggle.

In short, all three of Marx, Engels and Lenin considered culture to be part of the "superstructure" rather than the "base", and thus maintained that it is the change in the [[economy]] that leads to the change in a society's culture, and ran contrary to the thesis of the Cultural Marxists that a [[Cultural Revolution|cultural revolution]] can be possible before the socio-politico-economic [[proletariat|proletarian]] revolution.

===Soviet Marxism against Cultural Marxism: Lukacs against the Frankfurt School===

Knowing the above, one can more easily understand the nature of the cultural debates between [[Marxism|Marxist]] intellectuals in the 1920s. The Soviet "orthodox" Marxists, such as [[Grigory Zinoviev]], Nikolai Bukharin and Karl Radek, maintained that the revolution in capitalist countries will come only through the [[class warfare|class struggle]] of the workers against the [[bourgeoisie]] and that culture plays a secondary role in this struggle. They also maintained that Marxist art should adhere to a simple, realistic and popularly understandable depiction of the evils of capitalism.

In a 1924 [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Soviet Communist Party]] congress, many Cultural Marxist and Modernist authors were harshly criticized by Soviet officials as "heretics". In his speech entitled The Struggle Against the Ultra-Lefts and Theoretical Revisionism, Zinoviev fiercely attacked [[Georg Lukacs]]' book History and Class Consciousness, declaring: ‘If we get more of these professors spinning out their Marxist theories, we shall be lost. We cannot tolerate theoretical revisionism of this kind in our Communist International.’ Nikolai Bukharin, soon to replace Zinoviev as [[Joseph Stalin]]’s chief ally in the [[Comintern]], told Karl Korsch, author of one of the most influential Cultural Marxist texts: ‘We can’t put every piece of garbage up for discussion.’<ref>https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/revhist/backiss/vol8/no1/smith.html</ref> Karl Radek also formulated the superiority of classical [[European]] Realism over Modernism, saying "If I were to write novels, I would learn how to write them from Tolstoy and Balzac, not from [[James Joyce]]."<ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/radek/1934/sovietwritercongress.htm</ref> This year, which coincides with Stalin's takeover of the Party, marks the moment in which the [[Soviet Union]] closed its door to Cultural Marxism. Soon, the USSR made illegal such evils as [[homosexuality]] and [[abortion]].<ref>https://www.marxist.com/from-emancipation-to-criminalisation-stalinist-persecution-of-homosexuals-from-1934.htm</ref><ref>http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1936-2/abolition-of-legal-abortion/</ref>. From now on, Cultural Marxists considered the USSR as the "betrayer of the revolution". The advent of the [[Hitler]] dictatorship in [[Germany]] also meant the Frankfurt School was closed, and from 1933 Cultural Marxists started emigrating to America.

Karl Korsch, [[Georg Lukacs]] (only in his early philosophical period) and [[Antonio Gramsci]] (see below) were the original founders of Cultural Marxism. Their thought influenced that of the members of the [[Frankfurt School]] of [[Critical Theory]] ([[Theodor Adorno]], [[Max Horkheimer]], Walter Benjamin, [[Herbert Marcuse]], [[Erich Fromm]] etc.) who mingled Marxism with the theories of [[Sigmund Freud]], [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] and [[Immanuel Kant]], something unacceptable for Soviet Marxists. For the Cultural Marxists, the world of ideas is equally important to the material one, and they maintained that it is possible for a revolution in the world of ideas to lead to a revolution in the material world. They also abandoned the defense of realism and instead championed [[modernism]] and [[abstract art]], labelled as "degenerate" by both Nazis and Soviets. In response, they equated [[Nazism]] and [[Stalinism]], being some of the first proponents of the theory of [[totalitarianism]]. The Frankfurt School's theories, akin to neo-Hegelian dialectical idealism and "Freudo-Marxism" focusing on "[[sexual revolution|sexual liberation]]", are what forms the crux of Cultural Marxism.

Lukacs, however, soon repudiated these theories and returned to a much more orthodox Marxist stance, coming at odds with his former Frankfurt comrades, whose theories he now labelled "Café Marxism". He chose to live in the Soviet Union and his native [[Hungary]] and became the Culture Minister of the 1956 [[Hungarian Revolution]] under [[Imre Nagy]]. He fiercely criticized those Frankfurt School intellectuals who instead went to live in the comforts of the [[United States]] and [[West Germany]]. In 1962 Lukacs wrote: <blockquote>A considerable part of the leading German intelligentsia, including [[Theodor Adorno|Adorno]], have taken up residence in the "Grand Hotel Abyss" which I described […] as "a beautiful hotel, equipped with every comfort, on the edge of an abyss, of nothingness, of absurdity. And the daily contemplation of the abyss between excellent meals or artistic entertainments, can only heighten the enjoyment of the subtle comforts offered.<ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/lukacs/works/theory-novel/preface.htm</ref>.</blockquote>

In the world of Marxist thinkers, what Lukacs said here is the equivalent of flashing a red cloth around at an angry bull. Lukacs said that the Frankfurt School thinkers started to become bourgeois idealists who didn't care about having an active hand in the fight against political exploitation and oppression. Now that they were famous and kind of moneyed, they were sitting at their cozy desks at the luxurious Grand Hotel writing about Marxism, but they were becoming increasingly detached from its political cause. He pretty much accused them of hypocrisy—of living like fat-cat capitalists and losing focus.<ref>https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literary-critics/gyorgy-lukacs/quotes</ref>

[[Image:Breitbart1.jpg|thumb|160px|right|Andrew Breitbart]]
[[Andrew Breitbart]] gives a great if not brief crash course discussion about ''Cultural Marxism'' with Peter Robinson of the [[Hoover Institute]] for ''Uncommon Knowledge'', and, in part, this is what he said:
<blockquote>Think about this: These guys left, THESE GUYS LEFT NAZI GERMANY and Mussolini's Italy to come to California in the 1940's and they lived by the beach, and they were depressed by the relentless cheery-ness - the productivity; and the capitalism that they witnessed around them. And they came up with, at the end of the day; We can call it Cultural Marxism, but at the end of the day, we experience it on a day to day basis, by that I mean a minute by minute, second by second basis. It’s political correctness and it’s multiculturalism.<ref>[https://youtu.be/b8CpON8VrRU?t=22m38s Andrew Breitbart - Media War]</ref></blockquote>

In the video, Breitbart discusses the ''Frankfurt School'', ''[[Critical Theory]]'', [[Herbert Marcuse]], [[Antonio Gramsci]], [[Max Horkheimer]], [[Theodor Adorno]], [[Bertolt Brecht]], and others of the German School, many which emigrated to America. He further wrote about ''Cultural Marxism'' more in-depth in his book ''Righteous Indignation''.

===Gramsci===

[[Antonio Gramsci]] was a lieutenant of [[Joseph Stalin]] who headed the [[Italian]] branch of the International Communist movement ([[Comintern]]). After several failed assassination attempts on Mussolini, Gramsci was imprisoned in 1926 until his death in 1937. While in prison Gramsci wrote his ''Prison Notebooks'', speculating on the failure of [[violent]] [[revolution]] to materialize in [[Western Europe]] as [[Karl Marx]] had predicted. Gramsci's works are considered by [[Socialists]] to be foundational to modern [[public education]] and Cultural Marxism.<ref>https://www.jstor.org/stable/23768314?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents</ref><ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/gramsci/prison_notebooks/problems/education.htm</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdTTr4iYT0M</ref>

Gramsci's theory of "cultural hegemony" states that the ruling capitalist "oppressor" class uses cultural institutions, such as "traditional marriage," to maintain power. The "oppressors" develop a "hegemonic culture" using [[ideology]] unlike Socialists who use [[violence]], economic force, and coercion. "Hegemonic culture" propagates its own values and norms so that they become "[[common sense]]" values and thus maintain the [[status quo]]. According to [[Wikipedia]], this "Hegemonic power is therefore used to maintain consent to the capitalist order, rather than coercive power using force" as Marxism does "to maintain order. This cultural hegemony is produced and reproduced" by the dominant Christian oppressor class "through the institutions that form the superstructure."

Joseph A. Buttigieg, [[Pete Buttigieg]]'s father, was a founding member of the International Gramsci Society and served as the executive secretary.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20100616163619/http://english.nd.edu/faculty/profiles/joseph-a-buttigieg/</ref>

===Dutschke===
:{{See also|Long march through the institutions}}
The Long march through the institutions is a [[Marxist]] concept formulated in 1967 by the [[West German]] student movement leader Rudi Dutschke. Dutschke reformulated [[Antonio Gramsci]]'s philosophy of cultural Marxism with the phrase ''the long march through the institutions'' (German: ''Marsch durch die Institutionen'') to identify the political war of position or incrementalism, an [[allusion]] to the [[Long March]] (1934–35) of the [[Communist Party of China|Communist Chinese]] [[People's Liberation Army]], by means of which, the [[working class]] or "oppressed" would produce their own intellectuals, civil servants, and culture (dominant ideology) to replace those imposed by the [[bourgeoisie]] or "oppressor class."<ref>{{Citation | url = http://english.nd.edu/faculty/profiles/joseph-a-buttigieg/ | editor1-first = Joseph A | editor1-last = Buttigieg | edition = English critical | last = Gramsci | title = Prison Notebooks | at = p 50 footnote 21 | quote = Long March Through the Institutions<sup>21</sup> | deadurl = yes | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20100616163619/http://english.nd.edu/faculty/profiles/joseph-a-buttigieg/ | archivedate = 2010-06-16 | df = }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1215/01903659-32-1-33| issn = 0190-3659| volume = 32| issue = 1| pages = 33–52| last = Buttigieg| first = Joseph A.| title = The Contemporary Discourse on Civil Society: A Gramscian Critique| journal = Boundary 2| year = 2005}}</ref><ref name= "davidson">{{Citation | format = web log | url = http://carldavidson.blogspot.com/2006/04/strategy-hegemony-long-march.html | title = Strategy, Hegemony & 'The Long March': Gramsci's Lessons for the Antiwar Movement | first = Carl | last = Davidson | date = 6 April 2006}}.</ref><ref>See also [[Carl Davidson]]</ref><ref>Marsch durch die Institutionen|Marsch durch die Institutionen at German Wikipedia.</ref><ref>[[wikiquote:Antonio Gramsci#Misattributed|Antonio Gramsci: Misattributed]] at English Wikiquote for the origin of “The Long March Through the Institutions” quotation.</ref>

[[Karl Marx]] spoke of a sudden [[revolution]], where everything changes in a moment. Gramsci, the head of the [[Italian]] Communist party, was thrown in prison by [[Benito Mussolini]], where he speculated on the failure of Marxist revolution in his ''Prison Notebooks'', and attributed the failure to the cultural hegemony of the bourgeois oppressor class. Dutschke built on Gramsci's writings by proposing a long march through the cultural institutions of society - the church, entertainment, civil service, educational faculties, family institutions and marriage - to replace the dominant culture and replace it with revolutionary godless cultural Marxism.

Dutschke said, {{Quotebox|"Revolution is not a short act when something happens once and then everything is different. Revolution is a long, complicated process, where one [der Mensch] must become different...the process goes along this way, which I have once named ‘The Long March through the Established Institutions’, in which [institutions], through clarification [Aufklärung], systematic clarification and [[direct action]]s, awareness is brought [Bewusstwerdung] to further minorities in and outside the university, in schools, in trade schools, in engineer schools, also technical universities and finally in factories, where workers are currently worrying about their jobs. The process has begun, and that is a long story, which right now has been set on its course by us."<ref>http://crisiscritique.org/nov2018/boris.pdf</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_r_XahzELY</ref>}}

Gramsci theorized that if Communism achieved "mastery of human consciousness," then [[concentration camp]]s and [[mass murder]] would be unnecessary. Mastery over the consciousness of the great mass of people could be attained if Communists or their sympathizers gained control of the organs of culture — [[church]]es, [[education]], [[newspaper]]s, magazines, the electronic media, [[literature]], [[music]], the visual arts, and so on. By winning "cultural hegemony," Communism would control the deepest wellsprings of human thought and imagination. One need not control all information itself if one can gain control over the [[mind]]s that assimilate that information. Under such conditions, opposition would disappear since men are no longer capable of grasping the arguments of Marxism's opponents.<ref>https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/history/item/15545-gramscis-grand-plan</ref>

==Criticism==
According to [[Wikipedia]], cultural Marxism has become a focal topic for many conspiracy theorist websites which seek to cloak their anti-Semitic, anti-Jew messages behind a legitimate topic. It is true that many of the members of the Frankfurt School were Jewish, but their big problem was that they were [[Marxists]]. Other sources, invariably liberal, deny that cultural Marxism exists and seek to treat the entire topic as a "conspiracy" itself, by casting Cultural Marxism as a "myth" or a "hoax".<ref>[https://attackthesystem.com/2014/05/18/on-the-myth-of-cultural-marxism/ On the Myth of "Cultural Marxism"]</ref> Wikipedia has an entire section titled ''Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory'' within its page for the ''Frankfurt School''.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_School#Cultural_Marxism_conspiracy_theory Frankfurt School - Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory]</ref> As of September 2020, Wikipedia has added an article titled "Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory," using the image of convicted terrorist and self-identified Nazi fascist Anders Behring Breivik to discredit the theory. <ref> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Marxism_conspiracy_theory</ref>

==See also==
*[[Liberal values]]
*[[Anthropological Revolution]]
*[[Critical theory]]
*[[Equity literacy]]
*[[Destroying the family]]
*[[Dialectical unity of self-contradictions]]
*[[Cultural Revolution]]
*[[Frankfurt School]]
*[[Nimrodian aspirations]]
*[[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=35em}}

==External links==
* [https://mises.org/blog/cultural-marxism-explained-7-minutes Cultural Marxism Explained in 7 Minutes], by Joseph T. Salerno at the Mises Institute
* [https://www.gotquestions.org/cultural-Marxism.html What is cultural Marxism?], at [[GotQuestions]]
* [http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/viewSubCategory.asp?id=552 Political Correctness / Cultural Marxism], [[Discover the Networks]]
* [https://www.theamericanconservative.com/2009/11/19/the-roots-of-political-correctness/ The Roots of Political Correctness], by William S. Lind
* [https://dailycaller.com/2016/09/29/cultural-marxism-is-destroying-america/ Cultural Marxism Is Destroying America], by Moses Apostaticus, September 29, 2016, ''The Daily Caller''
* [https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/19/cultural-marxism-enemy-review-michael-walshs-book-devils-pleasure-palace/ Cultural Marxism Is the Enemy: Review of Michael Walsh’s Book ‘The Devil’s Pleasure Palace’], by Austin Ruse, Breitbart News, November 19, 2015.
*[https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/cultural-marxism-corruption-america/ Cultural Marxism: The Corruption of America], 99 min. documentary film.
*[https://www.theepochtimes.com/c-how-the-specter-of-communism-is-ruling-our-world How the Specter of Communism Is Ruling Our World]. ''The Epoch Times''.
*[https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/sacred-mission-to-destroy-normality-weimar-america/ The Sacred Mission To Destroy Normality], by Rod Dreher
*Duke, Selwyn (July 18, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/reviews/opinion/item/32884-the-left-is-following-communism-s-playbook-for-revolution The Left Is Following Communism’s Playbook for Revolution]. ''The New American''.
*[https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/item/33182-behind-the-deep-state-alex-newman-fake-fall-of-communism The Fake Fall of Communism - Behind the Deep State], ''The New American''.
*[https://youtu.be/PPRjsumWt7w Antonio Gramsci & Cultural Marxism], [[John Birch Society]], Feb 1, 2021. youtube

{{Deep State}}
{{communism}}
[[Category:Marxism]]
[[Category:Liberalism]]
[[Category:Globalism]]
[[Category:Marxist Terminology]]
[[Category:Threats]]

Falsifiable

2021-08-12T02:50:24Z

Mercaa: basic edits

<center>''This is a powerful concept for overcoming regret, and debunking other untestable assertions: unfalsifiable notions are a waste of time''.</center>

A concept is '''falsifiable''' if it is possible to show that it is false if it were false.<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O87-falsifiability.html Definition] A Dictionary of Psychology, Andrew M. Colman, via encyclopedia.com</ref> A concept that could not possibly be shown to be false, even if it were false, is not falsifiable. Many theories are '''falsifiable''', '''falsifiable''' claims are the only claims that can be true, such as the prediction that sun will rise in the East tomorrow morning, because if that theory were false then it would be possible to show that it is false.<ref>If the outcome of an actual experiment has an outcome that disproves a theory, then that theory is both falsifiable and demonstrably false.</ref> That experiment could consist of waiting until the next morning to see what happens. Independently of the outcome of that test, the fact that one can devise such a test renders the theory falsifiable.<ref>Of course the test gets conducted every morning, and has never failed.</ref>

To be considered [[scientific]], a [[hypothesis]] must be "falsifiable", i.e., capable of being proven false. If no one, not even the supporters of the hypothesis, can think of a way the hypothesis might be proven false, then most scientists would agree that it is not part of science (see [[pseudoscience]]). However, the [[history of science]] is full of examples whereby supporters of various theories refused to consider the prospect that someone might prove them wrong.

The claim of [[god]] existing is '''unfalsifiable''', due to this we can conclude a belief in [[god]] is unscientific (this however does not mean it is wrong).

For example, the suggestion that I would be very happy if I were ten years younger is not falsifiable, because it is impossible to test the hypothesis by making myself ten years younger and seeing how I feel. Similarly, emotions that things would be better if only [fill-in-the-blank] are not falsifiable, and thus not worth thinking about.

Falsifiability is commonly used as a criterion for whether a particular proposition is "scientific." Philosopher [[Karl Popper]] popularized this criterion, arguing that science progresses through the process of "Observation, speculation, falsification;" That is, we observe the universe, we develop a speculative hypothesis about the universe, and we test our hypothesis. If our hypothesis is proven false, we discard it. If our hypothesis is not proven false, we can consider it provisionally true. According to Popper, there is no such thing as ''scientific certainty;'' on the contrary, all our beliefs are properly held ''provisionally,'' and always subject to the possibility that they will someday be disproven by experiment.

Popper, and those who agree with him, categorize many types of ideas as unfalsifiable, particularly in psychology and religion. For example, the proposition "Joe beats his children because his father beat him" is unfalsifiable, because we cannot perform a test in which Joe was ''not'' beaten by his father, and see if Joe still beats his children. Because the proposition is not testable, according to falsificationism, it is no better than any other hypothesis, and therefore not useful, and not scientific. However, the broader hypothesis "Parents who were beaten as children are more likely to beat their own children" can be falsified - e.g. through surveys - and if that broader hypothesis was supported, it would also lend weight to the position that it was true in Joe's particular case also. Thus, while propositions about specific historical persons or events are not directly falsifiable, they can be indirectly falsifiable insofar as they depend on broader claims that are falsifiable.

A good example of an unfalsifiable concept is the nature of matter inside [[black hole]]s. By definition, the interior of a black hole cannot be seen and thus assertions about the interior are unfalsifiable.

Some informal [[logical fallacy|logical fallacies]] involve changing an argument to make a statement appear to be unfalsifiable. Examples include [[Morton's fork]] and [[no true Scotsman]].

== Regret ==

Regret is not falsifiable, and thus is not a logical or productive expenditure of time. There is no way to test if a different action in the past would have resulted in more or less happiness or any other measure of success.

==Carl Sagan==

In his book ''The Demon-Haunted World'', [[Carl Sagan]], a noted [[astronomer]], gives an example of an unfalsifiable proposition: "There is a dragon in my garage." In order for one to prove or disprove a statement he is allowed to ask questions, as shown below:

*''Q. Can I see the dragon?''
*A. No, the dragon is invisible.

*''Q. Can I touch the dragon?''
*A. No, my dragon is incorporeal.

*''Q. Can I hear the dragon?''
*A. No, my dragon is silent.

and so on...

In this way, every question can be answered and therefore the existence of the dragon is unfalsifiable. In the absence of physical or other evidence of its existence, whether the dragon actually exists or not is a matter of faith.

== G.K. Chesterton ==
[[G.K. Chesterton]], a Christian [[Christian apologetics|apologist]] of the early 20th century, articulated the problem of falsifiability several years before Popper. He wrote:<ref>G.K. Chesterton, ''Everlasting Man'', II.</ref>

{{QuoteBox|Science is weak about these prehistoric things in a way that has hardly been noticed. The science whose modern marvels we all admire succeeds by incessantly adding to its data. In all practical inventions, in most natural discoveries, it can always increase evidence by experiment. But it cannot experiment in making men; or even in watching to see what the first men make. An inventor can advance step by step in the construction of an aeroplane, even if he is only experimenting with sticks and scraps of metal in his own back-yard. But he cannot watch the Missing Link evolving in his own back-yard. If he has made a mistake in his calculations, the aeroplane will correct it by crashing to the ground. But if he has made a mistake about the arboreal habitat of his ancestor, he cannot see his arboreal ancestor falling off the tree. He cannot keep a cave-man like a cat in the back-yard and watch him to see whether he does really practice cannibalism or carry off his mate on the principles of marriage by capture. He cannot keep a tribe of primitive men like a pack of hounds and notice how far they are influenced by the herd instinct. If he sees a particular bird behave in a particular way, he can get other birds and see if they behave in that way; but if he finds a skull, or the scrap of a skull, in the hollow of a hill, he cannot multiply it into a vision of the valley of dry bones. In dealing with a past that has almost entirely perished, he can only go by evidence and not by experiment. And there is hardly enough evidence to be even evidential. Thus while most science moves in a sort of curve, being constantly corrected by new evidence, this science flies off into space in a straight line uncorrected by anything. But the habit of forming conclusions, as they can really be formed in more fruitful fields, is so fixed in the scientific mind that it cannot resist talking like this. It talks about the idea suggested by one scrap of bone as if it were something like the aeroplane which is constructed at last out of whole scrapheaps of scraps of metal. The trouble with the professor of the prehistoric is that he cannot scrap his scrap. The marvellous and triumphant aeroplane is made out of a hundred mistakes. The student of origins can only make one mistake and stick to it.}}

== Falsifiability of religious beliefs ==
Many atheists claim that religious beliefs are inherently unfalsifiable. However, on the contrary, very many religious beliefs are capable of being falsified. Many religions predict a particular sort of afterlife; if, after death, one encountered a rather different sort of afterlife, that would falsify that religion. For example, Islam would claim that in the afterlife, one will be told that Muhammad was a true prophet and the Quran a true scripture. If, upon dying, one was not told these things—and, on the contrary, was told that Muhammad was a false prophet—that experience would falsify Islam. Thus, once we are dead, such claims will be easily falsifiable. However, once we are dead, it will be too late to act on such information, and the living cannot ask the dead because God prohibits the dead from coming back to testify.<ref>[http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Luk&c=16&t=KJV#comm/27 Luke 16:27-31]</ref>

Also, many religions make assertions about matters within our ability to observe. If those assertions are falsifiable through observation, then so are the religions making such assertions. Examples of falsifiable religious assertions are claims that the world would end within the lifetime of a certain religious figure who is now dead and assertions about the characteristics of various animals.

== Court decisions ==

Left-leaning courts have been hostile to the doctrine of falsifiability. As of July 31, 2021, only 356 reported court decisions have cited "falsifiable" or "falsibility", and only one of those decisions was by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]], and that was in dissent:
{{cquote|Following this sentence are three quotations from treatises, which not only speak of empirical testing, but one of which states that the "'criterion of the scientific status of a theory is its falsifiability, or refutability, or testability.'" Ibid.

I defer to no one in my confidence in federal judges; but I am at a loss to know what is meant when it is said that the scientific status of a theory depends on its "falsifiability," and I suspect some of them will be, too.}}
''Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc.'', 509 U.S. 579, 600 (1993) ([[William Rehnquist|Rehnquist]], C.J., dissenting)

== See also ==

*[[Addiction]]
*[[Critical rationalism]]
*[[Falsifiability of evolution]]
*[[Deduction]]
*[[Induction]]
*[[Falsifiability of God]]
*[[Karl Popper]]

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]

== References ==
<references/>
{{Greatest Thinkers}}