Wokeism

The term “Woke” refers to people who have become awakened to systemic injustices of discrimination in society. It originated in the US Black community following the civil rights act of 1964. Despite having obtained their freedoms, many members of the black community continued to experience racial injustice, limiting their upward mobility in society. The term has since been appropriated by the Critical Social Justice (CSJ) movement, and has been applied to all factors of discrimination; race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and the vast intersections of these group identity categories.

Since adopting the CSJ worldview, the Woke now see the world as irredeemably discriminatory. This is due (supposedly) to uncontrollable biases and in-group preferences. This is where the theory of “power dynamics” arose. The concept of “power dynamics” is that intersectional groups behave in a manner to elevate the social status of their own group at the expense of other groups. The Woke believe it is their responsibility to continuously battle power dynamics in society through their use of Critical methods which seek to uncover hidden forms of discrimination. They advocate for the use of equity (i.e. affirmative action) to correct for disparities in society, particularly where there are disparities of successful white heterosexual men (i.e. the patriarchy).

What’s Wrong with It?

It is a nihilistic belief system, which fails to acknowledge the progress which has been made on issues of civil rights and opportunities in society for supposed “oppressed” groups. It also fails to acknowledge that liberal democratic societies of the West are among the most progressive on these issues. Truly Woke ideologues openly attack the fundamental tenants of liberalism; i) individual rights and equality before the law, ii) freedom of speech & expression, and iii) the rights of parental guardians to install their values on children. They essentially seek to overturn the fundamental principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms.

Although the Woke are correct that issues of in-group preferences, biases and historical discrimination are contributory factors to current outcomes in society, they ignore more important factors. These important factors include demographics, cultural differences and associated career preferences, academic achievement differences between groups, and differences in occupation preferences and work / life balance trade-offs between men and women. Economists who study this issue point to these factors and the associated “human capital” as being the primary determinant of economic success for individuals, and disparities among groups. Although the Woke claim they are addressing systemic discrimination in society, they are really undertaking a form of social engineering which uses discrimination as the justification and affirmative action as the legal tool. In doing so, the Woke are the ones who seek to discriminate against the hard work of individuals, while undermining our constitutional rights and associated liberties.