Post #22 — TRSC Prediction Series — W. Cleon Skousen (1963): The “45 Communist Goals”
- kmcvadon
- Apr 10
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 10
A TRSC Educational Analysis on Historical Warnings, Pattern Recognition, and Societal Resilience
TRSC Framework:
To understand resilience, families must understand the forces acting on a society — whether protective or corrosive. TRSC highlights this through two complementary tracks:
Track 1 — People Who Warned About Societal Vulnerabilities
Track 2 — People Whose Ideas Shaped or Accelerated Those Vulnerabilities
Both tracks reinforce a central TRSC principle: Resilience begins with understanding the long arc of change — not reacting to headlines.
This series is not about agreement or endorsement. It is about historical literacy, pattern recognition, and learning from the signals others saw in their own time.
PREDICTIONS SERIES — ENTRY 2
1. The Observer — Who W. Cleon Skousen Was
W. Cleon Skousen (1913–2006) was an American author, lecturer, and former FBI employee who wrote extensively about communism, constitutional history, and political philosophy during the Cold War.
His most widely known work, The Naked Communist (1958), attempted to summarize the ideological goals and long‑term strategies he believed were associated with global communist movements.
In 1963, a list of “45 Current Communist Goals” derived from his book was read into the United States Congressional Record by Representative A. S. Herlong Jr.
2. The Warning — What Skousen Claimed
Skousen argued that communist ideology sought influence not only through military or political means, but through cultural, educational, and institutional channels. He believed that long‑term ideological competition would target:
• Schools and universities
• Media and entertainment
• Cultural norms and moral frameworks
• Religious institutions
• Government agencies
• International organizations
His list of 45 goals reflected a belief that ideological influence could be gradual, subtle, and cumulative — a theme echoed by many Cold War thinkers.
3. The Pattern — What Historical Forces He Was Responding To
Skousen’s warnings emerged from a specific historical moment:
• The Soviet Union openly promoted global ideological revolution.
• The U.S. was expanding its institutions rapidly after WWII.
• The Cold War was defined by psychological, cultural, and ideological competition, not just military rivalry.
• Americans were increasingly aware of espionage, propaganda, and influence operations.
• Cultural norms were shifting due to mass media, urbanization, and generational change.
Skousen interpreted these forces as signs of institutional vulnerability — a theme that aligns with TRSC’s focus on long‑term societal drift.
4. The Signal Today — Why These Ideas Still Attract Attention
Many people revisit Skousen’s list today not because they accept every claim, but because they recognize recurring themes in modern discussions about:
• Institutional trust
• Cultural fragmentation
• Information warfare
• Foreign influence operations
• Shifts in education and media
• Globalization and international governance
5. Eighteen of the Most Discussed Goals (Historical Summary)
Below are 18 of the 45 goals that have received the most attention in academic and public discussions.
Influence political parties - capture one or both of the political parties
Gain control of the schools and teachers’ associations - soften the curriculum
Gain control of all student newspapers, use student riots to foment public protests
Infiltrate and influence the press and policymaking positions
Gain control of key positions in radio, TV and pictures
Challenge obscenity laws, promote pornography and obscenity in the media
Challenge traditional moral standards
Normalize previously stigmatized behaviors, present sexual fluidity, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”
Influence religious institutions, eliminate prayer and religious expression in the schools
Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion.
Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis
Discredit the Founding Fathers
Discourage teaching of American history
Critique federal law enforcement institutions
Influence business and labor organizations
Shift some policing functions to social agencies
Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
Promote child‑rearing philosophies that reduce parental influence
6. How Scholars Interpret the “45 Goals” Today
Historians generally view the list as:
• A snapshot of Cold War anxieties
• A reflection of how Americans interpreted global ideological conflict
• A mixture of documented geopolitical strategies and speculative cultural concerns
7. Related Cold War Voices: Bezmenov and Chambers
Yuri Bezmenov (1984): A former Soviet journalist (former KGB agent) who defected, Bezmenov described a four‑stage model of ideological influence:
Demoralization → Destabilization → Crisis → Normalization
The Four Stages of Ideological Subversion (Bezmenov, 1984)
1. Demoralization
Core idea: reshape a generation’s worldview so deeply that facts no longer matter. Duration: ~15–20 years — the time needed to educate one full generation.
Methods:
Manipulation of education, media, culture, and public discourse
Undermining traditional values, religion, and social cohesion
Promoting cynicism, confusion, and loss of confidence in institutions
Outcome: A population becomes unable to discern truth, even when confronted with evidence.
2. Destabilization
Core idea: target the pillars of national stability.
Duration: 2–5 years.
Targets:
Economy (inflation, shortages, labor conflict)
Foreign relations
Defense and law enforcement
Outcome: Institutions become unreliable, social trust erodes, and political polarization intensifies.
3. Crisis
Core idea: push society into a breaking point.
Duration: weeks to months.
Characteristics:
Rapid collapse of political order
Violent conflict or severe governance failure
Public demand for a “savior” or strong centralized authority
Outcome: A power vacuum emerges, making the society vulnerable to takeover or radical restructuring.
4. Normalization
Core idea: impose a new ideological order under the guise of restoring stability. Characteristics:
Consolidation of power by new rulers
Suppression of dissent
Institutionalization of the new system
Outcome: The crisis becomes the “new normal,” enforced through political or military control.
Whittaker Chambers (1952)
Whittaker Chambers was a former Soviet underground courier who became a pivotal figure in exposing Communist infiltration of U.S. government institutions.
After breaking with Communism in 1938, he publicly testified in 1948 that several federal officials—most famously Alger Hiss—had been part of a clandestine pro‑Soviet network. His evidence contributed to Hiss’s 1950 perjury conviction.
Whittaker Chambers became a symbol of how Communist networks had managed to penetrate parts of the U.S. government during the mid‑20th century.”
In 1952, Chambers published Witness, a memoir recounting his years in the Communist underground, his defection, and his role in the Hiss case. The book became highly influential in shaping mid‑20th‑century American anti‑Communist thought.
8. Why This Matters for TRSC — The Meta‑Lesson
The value of studying Skousen is in understanding how societies interpret risk, especially during periods of rapid change. His work highlights three enduring truths:
1. Societies are shaped by long‑term ideological and cultural forces.
2. Institutional drift often happens gradually, not suddenly.
3. Awareness is a form of resilience.
9. The TRSC Lesson — What Families Can Learn
For TRSC, the takeaway is practical and non‑political:
• Study the long arc of history.
• Recognize slow‑moving forces that shape institutions and culture.
• Build household resilience regardless of political cycles.
• Understand how ideological competition has influenced societies across centuries.
• Use historical literacy to navigate modern complexity.
You can’t change history.
You can’t unwind the forces that shaped the world you inherited.
But you can understand them.
You can challenge the assumptions of the geopolitical machine, recognize the long arcs that influence nations, and prepare your family for the realities of the world as it is — not as we wish it to be.
Awareness sharpens your judgment and makes you harder to manipulate. Capability strengthens your footing. Together, they make you far less vulnerable to the pressures of a changing world.
For more information: The Naked Communist - Wikipedia
About the Author:
Kevin McVadon is the founder of TRSC and is a retired special operations and intelligence professional. Through Front Sight Focus he teaches families to read the world the way past generations read the weather — by watching the patterns. His writing blends historical insight, lived experience, and practical resilience, helping readers understand how yesterday’s warnings shape today’s environment. He believes history is not a set of dates, but a set of signals.
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