The pushback against 'wokeness' is legitimate

The pushback against so-called “wokeness” has emerged a central theme in Republican politics, including the 2024 presidential race. While current front-runner Donald Trump has mocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his overuse of the word, Trump himself will no doubt campaign as an anti-woke culture warrior if he wins the nomination — considering that back in 2016 he ran as a crusader against “political correctness,” a similar concept.

Meanwhile, the consensus among Democrats and liberals is that too much “wokeness” is a fake problem ginned up by the right for culture-war agitation — and a code word for racial and gender equity. But the left is wrong: The problem does exist, and denying it is bad for Democrats and bad for the culture.

Those opposed to “wokeness” have sometimes had trouble defining the word. And many on the right have used it to refer to a wide array of things they dislike, including opposition to Trump or the belief that the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot was a horrific assault on democracy.  But the term, which originates in progressive anti-racist activism, does refer to a distinct set of ideas and attitudes. That includes the view that modern liberal societies are permeated with oppression based on race, gender, sexual preference, disability, body size and other identities; that we need a social justice revolution to dismantle these oppressions; and that human interactions must be constantly scrutinized for biases and inequities.

Few would deny that the effects of historical inequalities, such as racism and sexism and homophobia, still linger in American society, or that strides toward equity often run into a reactionary backlash. But “woke” activism takes worthy ideas to absurd extremes — insisting, for example, that all white Americans are guilty of racism in some form, if only by enjoying “white privilege”; that male sexual and romantic interest in women is almost inherently toxic; or that all claims of transgender identity must be validated, even if it means housing people with intact male anatomy in women's shelters or prisons. What’s more, because one of the core tenets of “woke” progressivism is that language and cultural expression play a key role in perpetuating oppressive attitudes, speech- and culture-policing is not a bug but a feature.

While “wokeness” is not the ubiquitous plague right-wing agitators claim it is, there are good reasons to be concerned. Take, for instance, public school lessons that ask students to “map” their various identities and classify those identities as either having “power” or as “marginalized.” Or proposed curricula in some progressive states and cities that try to inject “social justice” ideology into many classes including math and science, so that students are asked to ponder how “whiteness” or “power” operates in math. Or "diversity, equity and inclusion" workplace programs that many corporations now admit promote more polarization, bitterness and blame than understanding.

Other worrying trends include denunciations of strong police presence as “racist” and “fascist,” even though polls show that minority communities overwhelmingly want more but better-quality policing.

While bread-and-butter issues matter more to most Americans, there is evidence that “woke” excess is driving many people to the right — as evidenced by the shift toward Republicans in New York State politics and by recent polls that show a rise in conservative views among young people.

If liberals and progressives refuse to talk about these excesses and continue to dismiss them as a myth, this will only empower the right-wing anti-woke backlash.

Opinions expressed by Cathy Young, a cultural studies fellow at the Cato Institute, are her own.

By Cathy Young

Cathy Young is a writer for The Bulwark.