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How Woke Won: The Elitist Movement That Threatens Democracy, Tolerance and Reason
Wokeness has conquered our institutions. The worlds of politics, academia and even corporate capitalism now bend the knee to the new orthodoxies around gender, racism and identity. How Woke Won explores the intellectual roots of wokeness and how this movement, which poses as radical and left-wing, came to be embraced by some of the most privileged people imaginable. In this powerful critique, Joanna Williams argues that anyone interested in building a truly free, egalitarian and democratic society needs to tackle wokeness head-on.
270 pages, Paperback
First published May 19, 2022
55 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Williams
50 books27 followersDr Joanna Williams is Head of Education and Culture at Policy Exchange. She is an author, commentator and the associate editor of Spiked.
Joanna began her career teaching English in secondary schools and Further Education. She started working as a lecturer in Higher Education and Academic Practice at the University of Kent in 2007. She was Director of Kent’s Centre for the Study of Higher Education until 2016.
Joanna is the author of Consuming Higher Education Why Learning Can’t Be Bought (Bloomsbury, 2012) and Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). Her most recent book is Women vs Feminism (Emerald, 2017).
Joanna has written numerous academic journal articles and book chapters as well as being a frequent contributor to national and international debates on education, feminism and gender politics.
She has given many guest lectures, most recently speaking at the Universities of Bonn, Cologne, Leiden and the Freie University in Berline. In America she has lectured at St Olaf College, North Dakota State University, the University of San Diego and California State University, Fullerton. She has addressed the Institute for Humane Studies and the National Association of Scholars. Many ideas from Joanna Williams' articles and publications have inspired young people to do their research. College students can quickly achieve academic freedom with an essay writing service. The concept of freedom of education and expression remains a topical issue in 2020, and Joanna has made a significant impact on the development of higher education in the United States.
Joanna’s writing has been published widely in the UK and the US including The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Spectator, The Guardian, The New York Post and American Conservative.
Joanna writes and speaks about a range of issues including schools, gender, feminism, children and families. She has appeared on BBC 1’s Sunday Morning Live and Daily Politics and has reviewed the newspapers for Sky News. Joanna has been a guest on Radio 4’s Moral Maze and Broadcasting House as well as Radio 3’s Night Waves.
Joanna began her career teaching English in secondary schools and Further Education. She started working as a lecturer in Higher Education and Academic Practice at the University of Kent in 2007. She was Director of Kent’s Centre for the Study of Higher Education until 2016.
Joanna is the author of Consuming Higher Education Why Learning Can’t Be Bought (Bloomsbury, 2012) and Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). Her most recent book is Women vs Feminism (Emerald, 2017).
Joanna has written numerous academic journal articles and book chapters as well as being a frequent contributor to national and international debates on education, feminism and gender politics.
She has given many guest lectures, most recently speaking at the Universities of Bonn, Cologne, Leiden and the Freie University in Berline. In America she has lectured at St Olaf College, North Dakota State University, the University of San Diego and California State University, Fullerton. She has addressed the Institute for Humane Studies and the National Association of Scholars. Many ideas from Joanna Williams' articles and publications have inspired young people to do their research. College students can quickly achieve academic freedom with an essay writing service. The concept of freedom of education and expression remains a topical issue in 2020, and Joanna has made a significant impact on the development of higher education in the United States.
Joanna’s writing has been published widely in the UK and the US including The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Spectator, The Guardian, The New York Post and American Conservative.
Joanna writes and speaks about a range of issues including schools, gender, feminism, children and families. She has appeared on BBC 1’s Sunday Morning Live and Daily Politics and has reviewed the newspapers for Sky News. Joanna has been a guest on Radio 4’s Moral Maze and Broadcasting House as well as Radio 3’s Night Waves.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 25, 2022
I like reading about this topic to better diagnose what the problem is, because it’s a tough one to understand. The problem that authors face right now is that this topic is extremely saturated, so it’s difficult to write something new. But when I saw Joanna Williams’ subtitle to this book, it definitely caught my interest with it’s focus on this being an elitist movement. This is something Rob K. Henderson discusses with his theory of “luxury beliefs”. While this is a great book, there’s a lot in it that’s already been said.
Where this book stands out is when it focuses on how wokeness is an elitist movement. When the author discusses it from this angle, I’m like, “YES!”. She dives into how elites have altered language and other aspects of life to signal their status and then compares it to what’s going on now. I also really enjoyed when she wrote about how major companies are capitalizing on the woke movement while also mistreating and exploiting workers around the world. I’d say that this is maybe 30% of the book. Other than that, if you’re familiar with the topic, you’ll hear a lot of arguments that have been presented before and stories of why they’re issues. It was interesting learning a little bit more about how this is unfolding in the UK as well.
Do I recommend the book? Absolutely. Joanna is a phenomenal writer, and even though I’m familiar with the topic, I think it was worth the read just for the elitist angle she took. She also has an awesome concluding chapter with a unique perspective that I really enjoyed.
Where this book stands out is when it focuses on how wokeness is an elitist movement. When the author discusses it from this angle, I’m like, “YES!”. She dives into how elites have altered language and other aspects of life to signal their status and then compares it to what’s going on now. I also really enjoyed when she wrote about how major companies are capitalizing on the woke movement while also mistreating and exploiting workers around the world. I’d say that this is maybe 30% of the book. Other than that, if you’re familiar with the topic, you’ll hear a lot of arguments that have been presented before and stories of why they’re issues. It was interesting learning a little bit more about how this is unfolding in the UK as well.
Do I recommend the book? Absolutely. Joanna is a phenomenal writer, and even though I’m familiar with the topic, I think it was worth the read just for the elitist angle she took. She also has an awesome concluding chapter with a unique perspective that I really enjoyed.
September 13, 2023
Like it or not, “We now swim in woke culture….”
This is a really good book – with smart writing and (despite the polarizing seeming title) a truly inclusive (classically liberal) message about the current stage of the culture war where cultural distinctions and criticisms have gone way beyond concerns of preference and taste to moral evaluations and proclamations on the right to even exist (ie. The Cancel Culture).
It’s refreshing to see a Brit’s view about this American-cum-globalist ideological phenomenon, and what is most interesting is just how convoluted it all is – from its early 20th century inception as a black American reminder to be alert (to social dangers and racial injustices), to its late 20th century cultural appropriation by progressive whites, to its 21st century derision (by conservatives), subsequent disavowal (by progressives), and eventual expropriation by corporate elites…
“Woke activists are obsessed with race and gender identity to the exclusion of almost all other issues. Woke describes a moral sensibility that insists upon putting people into identity boxes and then arranging the boxes into hierarchies of privilege and oppression, with some groups in need of ‘uplifting’ while others must beg atonement.” (p. 2)
“The values promoted by woke are today most associated with an emergent elite that is socially and geographically mobile, highly educated and social-media savvy. Woke may not be this elite’s self-descriptor of choice, but woke ideas underpin establishment decision-making and corporate mission statements. ‘Woke’ refers to the side of the culture war that denies it is waging a culture war, yet which repeatedly fires the opening salvos.” (p. 15)
“In other ways we have come full circle. The shift from white men in suits to trendy, young, transgender, bisexual people of color has been rather superficial. Today’s woke cultural elite has more in common with the century-old establishment the Angry Young Men pushed back against in the 1950s than with the Angry Young Men themselves. Today, just as it was a century ago, the privately educated are overrepresented in the media, music and arts worlds. Just like a century ago, today’s elites share a political outlook and is hostile to those with different views. And, just as it was a century ago, shared tastes and language allow members of the cultural elite to distinguish themselves from everyone else.” (p. 63)
ps- this was the review that got me banned from ever posting reviews on Amazon.com again, a ban which included the removal of all 936 reviews I'd posted there over the past 20 years... They said I violated their community standards with this, but never specified how (my hunch is some AI program was just mindlessly handling some intolerantly woke customer's complaint).
Despite the unpleasantness of being canceled by Amazon, the fact it was triggered by a review of this book makes their petty and vindictive seeming action the perfect irony.
This is a really good book – with smart writing and (despite the polarizing seeming title) a truly inclusive (classically liberal) message about the current stage of the culture war where cultural distinctions and criticisms have gone way beyond concerns of preference and taste to moral evaluations and proclamations on the right to even exist (ie. The Cancel Culture).
It’s refreshing to see a Brit’s view about this American-cum-globalist ideological phenomenon, and what is most interesting is just how convoluted it all is – from its early 20th century inception as a black American reminder to be alert (to social dangers and racial injustices), to its late 20th century cultural appropriation by progressive whites, to its 21st century derision (by conservatives), subsequent disavowal (by progressives), and eventual expropriation by corporate elites…
“Woke activists are obsessed with race and gender identity to the exclusion of almost all other issues. Woke describes a moral sensibility that insists upon putting people into identity boxes and then arranging the boxes into hierarchies of privilege and oppression, with some groups in need of ‘uplifting’ while others must beg atonement.” (p. 2)
“The values promoted by woke are today most associated with an emergent elite that is socially and geographically mobile, highly educated and social-media savvy. Woke may not be this elite’s self-descriptor of choice, but woke ideas underpin establishment decision-making and corporate mission statements. ‘Woke’ refers to the side of the culture war that denies it is waging a culture war, yet which repeatedly fires the opening salvos.” (p. 15)
“In other ways we have come full circle. The shift from white men in suits to trendy, young, transgender, bisexual people of color has been rather superficial. Today’s woke cultural elite has more in common with the century-old establishment the Angry Young Men pushed back against in the 1950s than with the Angry Young Men themselves. Today, just as it was a century ago, the privately educated are overrepresented in the media, music and arts worlds. Just like a century ago, today’s elites share a political outlook and is hostile to those with different views. And, just as it was a century ago, shared tastes and language allow members of the cultural elite to distinguish themselves from everyone else.” (p. 63)
ps- this was the review that got me banned from ever posting reviews on Amazon.com again, a ban which included the removal of all 936 reviews I'd posted there over the past 20 years... They said I violated their community standards with this, but never specified how (my hunch is some AI program was just mindlessly handling some intolerantly woke customer's complaint).
Despite the unpleasantness of being canceled by Amazon, the fact it was triggered by a review of this book makes their petty and vindictive seeming action the perfect irony.
May 31, 2022
This book sets forth the idea that Woke has become the ideological justification for an Establishment which has lost its moral bearings and sense of purpose. It gives them a reason to maintain their power and position over the rest of society. Splintering society into smaller and antagonistic groups prevents ordinary people from uniting and bringing about real social change. Thus Wokeness is not truly Left wing.
Quite simply a brilliant book deserving a wide readership. Read it!
Quite simply a brilliant book deserving a wide readership. Read it!
June 1, 2022
Review
Although it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know about woke, except or some historical meanings it does go into depth and detail of how woke has spread so rapidly. I would have liked a more elaborate conclusion on how to tackle woke in society, particularly in schools.
Although it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know about woke, except or some historical meanings it does go into depth and detail of how woke has spread so rapidly. I would have liked a more elaborate conclusion on how to tackle woke in society, particularly in schools.
November 17, 2022
" [...] Woke is intolerant of national pride and is particularly scathing of national heritage and tradition. It is also anti-democratic, woke activists try to impose change from top down, while denying that woke even exists. [...] But perhaps of more concerns is the impact on debate: free speech is chilled and intellectual conformity is enforced when people fear saying what they truly think."
September 7, 2022
Very well written and informative analysis of the woke movement ,it’s insidious progress , and capture of ,first the elite, then the mainstream .
The distortion and denial of the objective truth ,by subjective fabrication, that threaten democracy and the liberal order in Western Society .
The distortion and denial of the objective truth ,by subjective fabrication, that threaten democracy and the liberal order in Western Society .
December 28, 2024
Woke is a term often bandied about but seemingly not really understood by the majority. Is it a good thing? Where does it hail from? How did it get to dominate the conversation both sides of the pond?
In a surprisingly easy read for what is a potentially dry and difficult subject, Joanna Williams explores the rise of Woke, of identity and gender politics, how the Black Lives Matter movement has been hijacked by others with a far bigger agenda and what can be done - despite the title - to overcome its insidious influence.
This should be a compulsory read for all social and political commentators who have been hoodwinked by woke, for the young, our politicians and anyone else who is confused by what they can or can’t say without offending someone or being cancelled.
In a surprisingly easy read for what is a potentially dry and difficult subject, Joanna Williams explores the rise of Woke, of identity and gender politics, how the Black Lives Matter movement has been hijacked by others with a far bigger agenda and what can be done - despite the title - to overcome its insidious influence.
This should be a compulsory read for all social and political commentators who have been hoodwinked by woke, for the young, our politicians and anyone else who is confused by what they can or can’t say without offending someone or being cancelled.
October 18, 2022
excellent analysis and summation
This clearly written, well-organized book is a model of clear thinking on a set of inter-related topics under the umbrella term woke. Woke is a noxious phenomenon to be resisted at every turn.
This clearly written, well-organized book is a model of clear thinking on a set of inter-related topics under the umbrella term woke. Woke is a noxious phenomenon to be resisted at every turn.
May 6, 2025
To begin with I must clarify that I have no personal interests in the debate about woke, I just find it interesting. Therefore, I picked up this book, to perhaps learn a thing or two. But this book has got to be the most biased presentation I’ve ever read, of anything. And it’s fine as an author to have an agenda, but this book is so dishonest and just so packed with straw men I can’t believe it. Also, but perhaps not surprising, not a single reference is given to any of the claims the author makes about the state of the world. And there are many claims about how (bad) things are. But given all of the above, it’s hard to trust any of it.
In sum, this is book is best used for pressing flowers. If you want to read a knowledgeable, interesting and critical reflection on wokeness, please see Musa al-Gharbi’s We have never been woke.
In sum, this is book is best used for pressing flowers. If you want to read a knowledgeable, interesting and critical reflection on wokeness, please see Musa al-Gharbi’s We have never been woke.
July 8, 2022
this is a well written book, and I wanted to like it and up to a certain point I did... but I found it just a little bit to "wordy" which meant for me I could not read more than a few pages at a time...
October 6, 2023
It took me by surprise, as I guess I forgot that Brits write books too. But then it proceeded to be so….British. Far too many u’s in far too many words, and the writing was so…British. Hubbly bubbly, tea and crumpets, and all that. It was just awkward to read and hard to understand.
July 22, 2022
Essential reading for everyone
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November 4, 2022Reviewed in the October 2022 issue of the Socialist Standard:
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blog...
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blog...
July 31, 2022
Review on my blog:
[[https://sophieandemile.wordpress.com/...]]
June 18, 2025
Góð bók til að byrja að kynna sér hugarheim anti-wokeisma. Nokkuð þó um endurtekningar og það vantaði fleiri dæmi til að tengja við.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews