Modern day "communists" are, at least in Europe, direct result of earlier communist youth movements, IMHO. Back in the sixties and seventies it was all the rage in European universities to be communist; back then this was partially because people didn't have that many options from which to choose when picking up their worldviews, and at least communists were against christian values and conservatism. Even the earlier generations of Europeans were quite tired of the earlier mainstream culture that was dominated by the christian morals, and it was just a matter of time when the more emotionally driven portion of their descendants would revolt identity-wise. Now, this wave of western communism lost appeal and thunder as the oppressive and corrupt nature of Soviet Union became more apparent to the public at large, throwing the western communist parties in to bad light. At best, they were buffoons and at worst, murderous extremists, in the eyes of their intended target audience. As their sex appeal waned, the old communists turned their coats, adopted more "acceptable" causes like the green movement, animal rights and social democracy and effectively rehabilitated themselves to their respective societies.
However, ideologies sit deep in human psyche, and as this generation of once-revolutionaries raised the children of their own, these kids would grow up listening to tales of how cool it was to "fight against imperialism" and "save the world from capitalist oppression" while partying with hot chicks/guys and drinking red wine all night long. The earlier generation of communists had at least somewhat proletarian or agrarian backgrounds; their own success in academic, cultural and bureucratic worlds ensured that their children were raised in inherently better and more privileged positions, essentially knowing nothing of the hardships or realities facing the "common man".
Now, add to this kind of background our modern atmosphere of gender-fluidity, feminism and all the other garbage these maggots inhale like glue. It's really a wonder that they aren't even more of a joke they already are.