Propaganda works.
As long as they control the Ministry of Propaganda that is called the MSM, it will always be an uphill battle.
I think it goes deeper than that.
In The Prisoner the threat people try to use to get compliance is being declared unmutual, resulting in shunning.
This was absolutely brilliant story telling for it spoke of a society so sure of itself that it couldn’t comprehend not wanting to be part of it and so fear of being ousted was the stick, belonging the carrot.
The Left in this country has reached a point when the indoctrination efforts from the original Cultural Marxist has reached fruition ... they just can’t pat themselves on the back enough that they are the good people and those who aren’t them are the bad people, the Deplorables.
(If their “good” didn’t amount to some Cultural Suicide Fetish this might not be the big problem it is.)
And fear of being declared unmutual drives their conformity, their virtue signaling,
To be a good person means bring on the right side of issues, every single issue, but if you’re really really important and on the correct side of certain external soecial issues ... woo hoo! Consider just one issue (abortion) as they were indicating back in Bill Clinton’s time in office: being on the correct side of the issue means you get a pass, or even should get free gropes as one gal was to have said.
So the oddness of Left wing ideology as it has become: the masses live in fear of each other leading to great conformity while their elites are essentially free of fear of ever being called out.