@Richard Moorton:
Communism lurched forward like a zombie until it realized it had no life and then collapsed.

Why did the left not dissolve after the palpable failure of their dream?

The left did not dissolve because it still offers a “meaningful” life to young intellectuals-to-be. Yes, by the end of the fifties, *Communism* as embodied in existing states was utterly unappealing. This, however, did not matter due largely to the genius of Italian Communist Party leader Antonio Gramsci and those who (broadly speaking) followed along with him: (a) the post-mods and (b) the [West] German Frankfurt School created The World’s Most Excellent Adventure, especially designed to appeal to college students.

So, what comprises this Most Excellent Adventure? First and foremost it is a cultural struggle, a Long March through the “reactionary” institutions of darkness. A war without guns, a war of progressive brains over reactionary stupidity. First, you join the crusade against the all-time source of evil, Christianity, in order to stamp out philistine Bourgeois morality (who said revolution can’t be fun?). Dethrone all Authority and undo the sheeplike belief in the masses’ hearts that their traditional authorities have any legitimacy.

Then, having softened up the Old Order, engage in masskult activism to (a) prepare the vanguard for concerted action at the point of societal collapse, and to (b) prepare the population for post-individualist life.

Who says you can’t push people around and enjoy victories along the way? From Critical Mass bike rides tying up traffic to mass shout-downs of radio talk shows, it’s “the Movement” on the march. Hoo-rah!

From this “revolutionary” perspective, Obama going down in defeat is a actually good thing because it supposedly exposes the need for revolution to the masses and because it radicalizes groups of have-nots who will serve as addtional shock troops in The Struggle.

Of course, the vanguard is an academic elite of puppet masters who work this dialectic on and on to ever-increasing levels of exposed contradictions and ultimate victory.

Hasta la Vitoria Siempre! [sic? I can't be bothered to look it up].

So, yes, this is a dream life for rich intellectuals and corporate leaders. Like many religious converts they never reject their youthful first love, and they continue to feel guilty that they “haven’t done enough”. Bill Ayers is a spiritual leader for them, one who actually employed bombs and published manifestos that tens of thousands eagerly studied, and HE only regrets he hasn’t done enough.

Dialectical Materialism has become the ultimate rich kid’s kick, a Romantic Life in which each one is himself a god among the gods. Since these little gods are not God and their Romantic Life is a hollow shell, yes, “zombies” is an excellent descriptor for them. And, yes, they are going to keep coming back again, and again, and again…