⬛️ Mostafa_Aleahmad
Dancing with the Devil
A Reflection on the Crisis of the Left in Iran

Mostafa Aleahmad, Instagram
February 6, 2026

When the left prefers dancing with the devil to embracing freedom.

Part of the tragedies of today's Iran can be considered the result of the actions of generations that continue to live an ideology-driven life.

..the paradox is clear: Leftists who revere Fidel and Che Guevara, yet long for a peaceful existence, avoid migrating to communist regimes out of fear of totalitarian tyranny. Rather than queuing outside the Russian or Cuban embassies, they actively choose the prosperity of capitalism, the security of the free market, and the freedom of expression offered by the West, establishing their lives in Western nations or societies that mirror Western models.

The hegemony of any ideology steers individuals toward prejudice and false consciousness. Within Iran, this ideological existence manifests as a strain of leftism deeply anchored in the concept of state domination..



Historically, the leftist movement in Europe and many other countries served as an intellectual gesture. The left reduces all human suffering to the flaws of capitalism. However, while the movement began in the name of justice and freedom, it accepted total state domination once it actually seized power in certain countries—particularly in the East. In the classical Marxist tradition, this state was never meant to be the final model of governance, but merely a transitional stage. Yet, Eastern leftist ideology became so deeply hostile to the West that the "state" was transformed into an eternal, sacred, and totalitarian pillar of the Leninist and Stalinist traditions..

But here lies the paradox: Leftists who idolize Fidel Castro and Che Guevara—yet desire a peaceful life—do not move to communist countries out of fear of totalitarian tyranny. They do not line up outside the Russian or Cuban embassies. Instead, they choose the prosperity of capitalism, the security of the free market, and the freedom of speech found in the West, establishing their lives in Western nations or countries built on Western models.

Yet, driven by a blind resentment, they continue to hate the West. The Iranian left has a classic love-hate relationship with Western society. While they desire Western freedoms, they simultaneously dismiss the West as arrogant and colonialist. At the same time, they completely ignore the imperialism of China and Russia—regimes that have impoverished and destroyed their satellite states, and tortured and killed millions of people in death camps.

This strain of leftism ultimately fell in love with regimes that are outwardly hostile to America and the West, yet whose actual behavior serves to benefit Western capitalism. The authoritarian regime is perfectly willing to pay tribute to both major and minor global powers—in both the East and West—while entirely depriving its own citizens of prosperity and civil liberties. Remarkably, some of the very revolutionary forces that once mobilized supporters with fiery anti-imperialist slogans have transformed. Today, they are either shareholders in state-affiliated corporations and banks, or they operate as cultural commentators and columnists. They feed off the government's network of economic rents while simultaneously posing as the opposition.

This "intra-structural opposition" has its roots in the art of survival under corrupt systems. It is a reformist posture that profits from government rent-seeking, buys acceptance abroad, and simultaneously masquerades as both the opposition and the victim. Ultimately, it votes in state referendums just to secure its seat under a new guise.

Yes, today’s disaster is not merely the product of repression; it is the result of this dual cooperation and coexistence between elites, intellectuals, and the forces of evil.

When intellectuals and elites, instead of standing up against dogmatism, reactionary thinking, and tyranny, strike deals with the forces of darkness out of a blind hostility toward the West, they empower the regime. They give it such strength that escaping this vicious circle is no longer easy—especially when the left prefers dancing with the devil to embracing freedom.