In 2018 EP published the original That Hideous Strength: how the West was lost; the book originated as lecture notes author Melvin Tinker prepared for a conference in Jerusalem that year. This book is an expanded version of the previous edition—it is about a third larger. The original acted as a ‘primer’ and ‘wakeup call’ to enable Christians especially to try and understand what has been happening in our Western culture for the last few decades due to the influence of what is identified as ‘cultural Marxism’ or ‘Critical Theory’. As well as unpacking in more detail some of the ideas of cultural Marxists and the way their strategies are being worked out in our society, Tinker has also sought to put more flesh on what the Church’s response might look like by drawing attention to what has been called ‘the Benedict Option’ and developing the concept proposed by Charles Taylor—the ‘social imaginary’. Another significant addition is an outline of the ideas of classical Marxism which places the current concern for cultural Marxism in its proper historical and philosophical context. It also serves to underscore that in many ways the ‘new Marxism’ is a revamping of the ‘old Marxism’ with consequences no less disastrous.
