# Left-Wing Terrorism Tears at the Social Fabric of Western Civilization by Scott Bessent > "As it tears at the social fabric that allows our societies to function, left-wing terrorism is the visible manifestation of a much broader and more insidious effort to undermine the philosophies that built Western civilization and sustain all we hold dear." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Source dossier:** [[research/Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism|Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism]]. - **Direct publication or recording:** [direct transcript](https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/07/remarks-at-the-opening-of-the-ministerial-on-the-resurgence-of-political-terrorism/). - **Editorial form:** The Reminder preserves the prepared contiguous quotation; punctuation and spoken disfluency treatment are recorded in the candidate map when applicable. - **Context and treatment:** Bessent names left-wing terrorism, social fabric as the immediate system damaged, Western civilizational philosophy as the deeper target, and institutional functioning as the consequence; [direct transcript](https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/07/remarks-at-the-opening-of-the-ministerial-on-the-resurgence-of-political-terrorism/), Bessent remarks. Direct contiguous sentence. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Environment|Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and the Intelligence Environment]] - **Collection:** [[collections/American|American Culture Collection]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Coming Market for Civilian Spycraft|The Coming Market for Civilian Spycraft]] - **Article:** [[articles/Reframing Antisemitism as a National Security Threat|Reframing Antisemitism as a National Security Threat]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Scott Bessent|Scott Bessent]] - [[wiki/Civilization|Civilization]] - [[wiki/Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism|Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "As it tears at the social fabric that allows our societies to function, left-wing terrorism is the visible manifestation of a much broader and more insidious effort to undermine the philosophies that built Western civilization and sustain all we hold dear." — Scott Bessent, Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-scott-bessent-left-wing-terrorism-tears-at-the-social-fabric-of-western-civilization ```