Customer Reviews

How The Left Was Won: An In-Depth Analysis of the Tools and Methodologies Used by Liberals to Undermine Society and Disrupt the Social Order

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Early in the book, the author states, "Liberalism is the single most destructive force in our society, and I can prove it." And prove it he does. Mgrdechian exposes the means by which the Left undermines America's deepest foundations with all the skill of a surgeon in an operating theater, examining human anatomy for the benefit of eager students. From the way Liberals use divisiveness to gain power, to the way they cozy up to hostile governments that are the antithesis of everything in which they pretend to believe, How the Left Was Won unmasks Liberalism for all to see. It's exacly what Conservatives have been trying to say for years, distilled, refined and indexed.

In Chapter 2, for instance, Mgrdechian discusses Good (or, as I refer to it, constructive) Competition versus Bad (destructive) Competition. Some seek to compete by becoming better than the rest: refining their ideas, selling better products, training to run faster, etc. Liberals, as he points out, only compete by tearing their opponents down without improving their own message or product at all. We can see the latter strategy in operation every single day, as Democratic politicians, Hollywood half-wits and members of the mainstream media spend all their time trying to undermine Conservatism instead of beating it fairly. Perhaps that's because they know it isn't possible. Maybe it's because they're just plain lazy.

I have to admit that Chapter 13 is perhaps my favorite chapter. Mgrdechian likens Liberals to the titular swarm of ants, each with only a tiny impact, but willing to swarm all over the opposition until we give way, if only to still the endless chanting. The image of those who dare excel being crushed under millions of little ant feet is evocative. "The ants have swarmed all over you," he writes, "until there was nothing left. Until a man didn't have any fight left in him. Until a company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Until the military was gutted, the police emasculated, the borders broken and the country overrun by terrorists and [..]." Right there is the essence of the Liberal "game plan," in my opinion: the attack on all our traditional values until we're paralysed by self-doubt and second-guessing, incapable of making any judgments, about anything.

If How the Left Was Won has any flaw, it's that the author exposes Liberal methodologies without discussing ways to counter them. Then again, we're Americans, and need no such hand-holding. By helping us identify the tactics used by Liberals, this book gives us tools we can use to craft arguments with which to defeat them. All we need is an informed, free competition of ideas, of values, of ways to look at the world. And that's precisely what the Left cannot allow.

Most political books I've read have a tendency to focus on single issues or high-profile current-events like illegal immigration, terrorism, the war in Iraq, etc. Because of this, as good as they may be their long term value is limited as the issue eventually runs its course in the media and fades into history.

Fortunately for us however, every now and again a book comes along that does have a kind of lasting value and, without a doubt, this one falls into that coveted category. Although it certainly does address nearly all of the key issues of our time in one way or another, it does so in a much broader and (as far as I can tell) completely unique way: through pattern recognition.

Simply put, this book clearly, forcefully and convincingly exposes the patterns, assumptions, techniques and strategies the Left uses to justify their policies while at the same time providing strong, concise arguments as to why those policies are so intellectually and morally bankrupt, so divisive, so counterproductive or just plain old ridiculous.

The most valuable lessons from this book however, are that by exposing what these patterns really are (the fifteen very readable chapters include topics such as Asymmetry, Bad Competition, Implicit Assumptions, Statistical Manipulation, Promoting Divisiveness and so on), the author helps the reader develop an almost uncanny ability to recognize all the flaws in just about any liberal argument on practically any subject whatsoever. Furthermore, the book's insights into these patterns prove invaluable with regard to developing a more thorough understanding of the true nature of liberalism, the true nature of politics and the true nature of human behavior. This book is too important not to read.

This is an important book. It's useful to be able to recognize the verbal tricks used by the people commonly labeled "the Left" or "the Liberals" and to know why those tricks are intellectually bankrupt and at the same time so persuasive.

For example, "Promote and Exploit Divisiveness". This is the anti-white campaign, blaming all problems on white people, explaining away any disagreement with them as a white perspective. Accusing anyone who disagrees with them of racism. Justifying any outcome as a result of past racism, etc.

"Relevancy and Proportion". For instance, responding to arguments with an attack on the person giving the argument, or pointing out that the person's research was paid for by an organization that can be labeled "conservative." Labeling anything or anyone conservative is a sufficient argument for most "Leftists" to reject whatever comes next without even hearing it, let alone thinking about it.

"The Perpetual Motion Machine". For instance, promoting and favoring programs that help disadvantaged people. Who could be against that? They never say how these programs will be paid for or who will pay for them. This is getting something for nothing, an impossibility. Favoring peace anywhere, anytime, under any circumstances, thus ignoring that the other side is actively engaged in war, and that wars don't just stop because some people join hands and sing or light a candle or whatever.

Etc.

One quibble I have with the book, though, is that the title is misleading. This is not a book about HOW liberalism was taken over, still less about WHO took it over and WHY. And it's important to know the answers to these questions in addition to knowing how it operates. For answers to these questions, this book should be supplemented by reading While America Sleeps: How Islam, Immigration and Indoctrination Are Destroying America From Within.

Richard Mgrdechian has written a timely and an extremely important book. He identifies the component strategies of liberal discourse, defines the underlying concepts, and gives them life by naming them.

Have you ever listened to someone talk and then say to yourself, that's the same old perverse nonsense I've heard before. You may be too busy earning a living and taking care of your family to go much further than that -- a sort of fuzzy feeling in the twilight zone of your mind. Read "How The Left Was Won" and learn how to identify the strategies used and to give them a name. The power and clarity this gives you the next time you hear that same old perverse nonsense will amaze you. Keep a copy near your television set just in case you need a reminder.

Eric Hoffer said that if he had a book with ten (I believe it was ten) well formed sentences and two original ideas, then he had a gem. By that standard "How The Left Was Won" is a gem. Mgrdechian writes in simple unpretentious style and has more than two original ideas in his book. I give his book five stars because of all the above and because it is an important contribution to the preservation of Western Civilization.

Mgrdechian comes to his work with a particular matrix of opinions. He warns you that you may not agree with some of his opinions but that you should look beyond that to the major thesis of his book which is the identification and naming of liberal strategies. I take strong exception to at least two of his opinions. That does not detract from the value of his book. There are more typos than a careful proofreading would allow. They are inconsequential and also do not substantially detract from the book.

Mgrdechian is a hard hitting combatant as only a conservative immersed in the culture surrounding San Francisco can be. Hard hitting or not, his book is well researched. Any one who is on the Western side of the major fault line in the war against the West should own a copy.

The goal of this book is to look at liberalism from a completely different perspective: that of breaking down all liberal policies (and the arguments in support of them) into nothing more than different expressions of what the author calls "tools and methodologies," and he manages to do that very effectively.

Mgrdechian writes in an extremely logical and straightforward manner. His arguments are sharp, concise, to the point and very convincing. He opens each chapter with a very strong premise (e.g. Chapter 1: "Let's face it, when you get right down to it, all of liberalism is fueled by a singular strategy -- a strategy which has been continually perfected and relentlessly executed over the past forty years. That strategy is to promote and exploit divisiveness.") and then spends the rest of the chapter proving that premise to us through numerous examples.

In both the preface and the afterword of the book, he encourages readers to "take the time to listen to what your liberal friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers may say with regard to social and political issues. Listen as they speak. Listen to how they speak. Listen to the words they use and listen as they endlessly employ -- consciously or unconsciously -- three, four, five or more of the tools and methodologies discussed in this book in each and every argument they try to make." Clearly, Mgrdechian's goal here is not only to show us the exact flaws in liberal thinking, but to also make sure that we can immediately recognize them whenever and wherever they may be.

Overall, this book not only helps to open our eyes to some very disturbing patterns, but also gives conservatives as well as those in the middle some great ways to logically deconstruct any liberal argument on just about any issue whatsoever. Very well done.

I have never seen social and political policies analyzed or discussed in this way before. This book is almost like a collection of case studies which logically prove the complete and utter irrationality of everything liberals think, say, do and want.

Overall, it brings a whole host of new and very logically structured ideas (Groupdividual, Asymmetry, Bad Competition, The Axis of Allies, A Swarm of Ants, The Perpetual Motion Machine and Implicit Assumptions just to name a few) into the world of political debate. A definite must read for anyone wanting to understand what liberalism is really all about.

I enjoyed this book but found it rather disconcerting how many times I was forced to agree with the author. I would consider myself a Libertarian so many of his ideals I don't agree with but his arguments are sound. In many ways I would like to think that liberals are not truly out to destroy this country but after reading this book you would be amazed how often you see the techniques he talks about being used by both liberal politicians and the media. In one section he discusses how liberals are infesting academia which has been addressed in a recent number of news stories and a wonderful movie called "Indoctrinate U". His section on bad competition could explain how our liberal policies are helping to destroy our economy and how these policies will continue to hinder any economic revitalization. He addressed many salient issue but I feel he could have gone into more detail and added more examples.

A very good read that applies to today's liberals more than ever.

I think this book is getting short shrift as I don't hear too many people talking about it, but I honestly think Rich has put forth some pretty novel ideas here. There's a lot in How the Left was Won that you won't find elsewhere. That's not to say it's perfect as I only agree with 99.9 percent of what he says in these pages, lol. I read 3000 years and believe that Mr. Mgrdechian has made notable improvements as a writer in the interim. He's hit upon a great, albeit very depressing, theme which is that the left exists to criticize and divide America...to death. The author's arguments are quite cogent and accurate overall. The left clearly does believe in bad, or false, competition and leftists offer nothing which is substantive to the public. Indeed, they are a fully destructive influence upon the polity and their commentary is never generative. I also found educational his discussion of concepts like groupdividual as I think its something that more of us need to write about and acknowledge. The implicit assumptions chapter and the one on asymmetry were quite valuable as well.

My only criticism is his frequent use of the word "liberal" to describe leftists. They aren't liberal; they are anti-liberal. Well, you might say, that's what they call themselves--so what? What they call themselves doesn't matter. If they call themselves "saints" would we follow their lead? No, conservatives must abolish the practice of calling leftists liberal as most of us are classical liberals who believe in government staying out of the lives of the people. It's important that we do not allow the left to define the terms of our debate. Well, this but a small matter as Rich has written a good book.

If genius is the ability to piece together ideas in new and creative ways, this book is truly the epitome of genius. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone (Left or Right) who has a sincere desire to understand in no uncertain terms exactly how and why modern-day liberalism is destroying American society.

This was a very good read. It sounds a clarion call warning anyone who cares that the liberals will stop at nothing to destroy this country and rebuild it in thier image. If we care about our heritage we must stop them anyway we can. This book provides a wake up call we ignore at our peril.