The Broad Appeal Of Critical Pedo Theory

The Left is eager to embrace this idea for its own cynical ends

Last year, I introduced “Critical Pedo Theory” to the marketplace of ideas. I defined it as the Right’s answer to Critical Race Theory, which imagines America as beset with systemic racism. CPT, on the other hand, imagines:

that the world is ruled by a pedophile cabal and “systemic pedophilia” is inherent to the current order. These elite pedos are evil by nature, which is why they use space lasers to cause forest fires and wield their weather machine against red states.

The Right found it useful to counter the Left’s racism accusations. The only thing worse than a racist in American society is a pedophile, so conservatives saw fit to label their enemies as such. It also affirmed the Right’s conspiratorial populism and hostility towards the establishment. There’s no better case for draining the swamp than to claim they’re all pedophiles.

But with the Jeffrey Epstein case now becoming the responsibility of the Trump administration, liberals have taken a liking to CPT. With invocations of the “Epstein class” and insinuations these powerful pedophiles are friends with Trump, the Left has exploited this idea for its own gain. This development foisted the Right on its own petard, demonstrating how it needs to wean itself off its addiction to conspiratorial populism. Instead of motivating the base to rally to the cause, it can destroy the Right.

There are many aspects of the Epstein case that would draw the public’s attention. The mysterious death, the foreign intelligence angle, the connection to Israeli politicians and billionaires, etc. But what generates the most attention is the pedophile angle. Epstein is primarily a villain because he violated our society’s lone remaining taboo.

Conservatives who were worried that liberals would normalize pedophilia should be relieved by the public’s reaction here. If anything, the taboo against pedophilia is even stronger today than it was previously. Jokes about teacher sex stories are more frowned upon and society now throws the label at older men who date younger adult women.

The fear over normalizing pedophilia is thankfully overblown. It remains a taboo, in part because it’s the only one we have left. Society has accepted homosexuality and many other practices it once deemed deviant. Pedophilia remains the one grave offense we’re allowed to despise, which partially explains the broad appeal of CPT.

If a politician talked about the “Epstein class” prior to 2025, it would’ve been assumed that they were a Marjorie Taylor Greene-tier Republican and the media would’ve denounced it as an anti-Semtic dog whistle. But now it’s a popular phrase among Democrats and the media celebrates it. The term was coined by California Rep. Ro Khanna, which refers to “the rich and powerful people who act and think like they’re above the law and, and perhaps above morality.” The Indian Democrat ties this directly to Epstein’s pedophilia, which is something the congressman alleges the dead financier’s associates knew about it but didn’t care about. It’s a term that has also been picked up by Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff. In his announcement speech announcing his re-election bid, Ossoff declared: “The Epstein class is ruling our country.” That line brought loud applause from the crowd.

These aren’t fringe figures. Both Khanna and Ossoff have 2028 ambitions, and the Californian is a constant presence on cable news. As journalist Michael Tracey notes, “the most ambitious politicians have decided it’s a big political winner to tell everybody that the United States is being fundamentally ‘ruled’ by pedophiles, to serve pedophilic interests.” CPT is a powerful idea in 2026 America.

Establishment liberals are eager to entertain it. Ezra Klein, the weathervane of establishment liberal opinion, has started to come around to the idea of an “Epstein class.” Fellow establishment liberal Anand Giridharadas joined his podcast last week to offer his own version of CPT. “I think we’ve learned that it takes a very powerful network to abuse so many children,” Giridharadas explained to Klein in an episode where he went at length on how this sin defines the Epstein class. This inspires his demand for a left-wing populism aimed at bringing this entire elite down.

Bill Maher is another liberal who now believes in CPT. He recently apologized to QAnon, claiming the conspiratorial populists were right about some things. However, he wasn’t willing to go as far as Lauren Boebert wanted. The Colorado Republican, who appeared on Maher’s show last week, still stands by the tenets of QAnon-ery and insisted the liberal comedian must also consider that these pedo elites may have eaten babies. That was a bridge too far for Maher. The exchange illustrates how the Left and Right can find common ground through the shared belief in CPT.

Do liberals actually believe in CPT? Probably not. But they know it’s smart politics to smear their opponents as pedophile protectors. It makes their Republican foes even worse than racists in the public eye.

It’s unclear how much Epstein will affect the midterms, but Democrats see it as a potent issue for themselves. It at least serves as a way to embarrass the Trump administration and cause division within MAGA. The Epstein case is the primary stated reason for influencers and Republican politicians to turn on the president. This matter could dampen turnout among Republicans in the fall and may even convince some to vote Democrat. It wouldn’t be that surprising to see jilted Marjorie Taylor Greene endorse Ossoff in Georgia.

The Epstein saga has been one of the Right’s biggest own goals. The demand for the Epstein files came pretty much entirely from conservatives. Elon Musk brought the issue to the forefront of political debate last summer when he accused Trump of being in the files and demanded their release. Before that, they were largely a secondary issue that only drew the attention of right-leaning influencers. But the world’s richest man made it news once again, and when the admin announced Epstein killed himself and there was no “list,” outrage erupted. It then moved from an issue primarily discussed on Rumble to one covered by CNN and network news.

Conservatives wanted the Epstein files released in order to prove the liberal elite were all pedos. This would fully vindicate their brand of populism. But the files painted a very different and far more complicated picture. While the files don’t implicate Trump in any real wrongdoing, public perception now falsely sees him as a close Epstein ally and even as a pedo. The only side that has been harmed by the Epstein case is the Right. The Left wasn’t tarnished by any of the accusations. Leftists were happy to throw Noam Chomsky and other implicated left-wing luminaries under the bus. It’s only served to help their cause.

One of the people most embarrassed by the Epstein files is Elon himself. The man who drew public attention to the matter apparently forgot about his lengthy correspondence with Epstein and his previous requests to visit the sex offender’s island. The lack of awareness was standard for most of the Right.

Right-wingers still might genuinely care the most about Epstein. CPT is more part of their worldview than it would be for liberals. Liberals only see it as an idea to exploit for their own political gain while it’s critical for how a number of rightists see the world. The Epstein saga has the potential to drive them away from right-wing causes. One disturbed young man tried to assassinate Trump over the weekend due to the Epstein files. According to his friends, he was a former Trump supporter who lost his mind over the story. There could be more like him.

CPT is no longer a useful idea for the Right. It doesn’t neuter the Left’s racism accusations or undermine liberal moralizing. It’s now more likely to sow division and demoralization on the Right than to galvanize opposition to the Left. The Epstein files certainly had information that was pertinent to public interest, but the haphazard way they were released was bound to generate this response. Conservative leaders should’ve thought this matter through before eagerly promising their audience proof of their wildest conspiracy theories.

The Left’s cynical adoption of CPT demonstrates how conspiratorial populism can bite the Right in the ass. If everyone in government is in on the pedophile cabal, that’s eventually going to include your own side when they gain power. It’s too anti-establishment and eager for drama to help a party make serious changes to the country.

Some accelerationists on the Right may still cheer on the popularity of CPT because it encourages dissent against the “system.” But if the end result is CPT believers voting Democrat and embracing their fellow pedo haters regardless of skin color, then it’s useless. It reaffirms support for the status quo. People revolting against the system on behalf of poorly-formed notions of cannibal pedophile cabals doesn’t help our side. What helps our side is encouraging identitarian thinking and enacting nationalist policies. CPT encourages an amorphous populism that is far more inclined to believe that race was invented by the elites to divide the people. It offers a completely different worldview from that of identitarians. It distracts from our mission rather than aids it.

There’s little sign that CPT or any other form of conspiratorial populism will dissipate anytime soon. The Epstein Files offer enough tidbits to validate these worldviews, and the new media environment is too dependent on this way of thinking to forsake it. It will continue to lead to self-sabotage.

The Right only has itself to blame when Democrats campaign against the Epstein class in the midterms.

You can now preorder Scott Greer’s new book, “Whitepill: The Online Right and the Making of Trump’s America,” from this link.