Sunday, November 23, 2025

GOOGLE SEARCH answers my question :[" Has the late New Atheism guiding light , Christopher Hitchens , had a fall from grace on the Left ? " ]

[Yes, to a significant extent, the late Christopher Hitchens has fallen from grace among many on the Left, primarily due to his strong support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq and his critiques of Islam after 9/11. While Hitchens identified as a Marxist and anti-authoritarian for much of his life and never a conservative, his post-9/11 alignment with some neoconservative foreign policy positions created a major rift with his former comrades and led to widespread criticism that persists after his death. Key points regarding his standing on the Left: The Iraq War Hitchens's support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a defining break with the mainstream Left, which largely opposed the war. He argued for intervention on humanitarian and anti-totalitarian grounds (specifically against Saddam Hussein's regime). This position was seen by many former allies as a betrayal of leftist principles. Critiques of Islam His outspoken criticism of Islam as a "foul prejudice" and a principal threat to the Western world, which some on the Left termed "Islamophobia," further alienated him from many progressives. Self-Identification vs. Perception Despite the criticism, Hitchens maintained he was still "of the left" or a "conservative Marxist," arguing that the Left had abandoned its principles by opposing action against a genocidal dictator and aligning with what he saw as reactionary anti-Americanism. However, many on the Left perceived his views and alliances as a shift to the right. New Atheism and the "Intellectual Dark Web" His role as a leading figure of New Atheism is viewed by some contemporary leftists as an early iteration of a movement that eventually saw many of its prominent figures drift further right and align with the "intellectual dark web," a group often critical of modern social justice movements. Posthumous Reassessment Today, discussions of his legacy on the Left remain polarized. Some commentators acknowledge his complexity and value his defense of free expression and anti-authoritarianism, while others continue to view his later political trajectory as a fundamental "flip-flop" or a "fall from grace". ]

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