We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite

Sociologist al-Gharbi, a columnist for The Guardian, debuts with a book that sets the goal of sociologically answering whether any of the “awokening” movements—four in the modern century—have actually changed, impacted, or improved the lives of their target audiences. Al-Gharbi’s main argument is consistently focused on symbolic capital and symbolic professions, asserting that a movement’s affluent, well-educated, white members benefit the most. He asserts that the current social justice movement began with Occupy Wall Street, not Trump’s election to the presidency. He explores the evolution of terms, going from “politically correct” to “woke,” for example, and he expounds upon public beliefs vs. private behavior, including the common defense that people want to be on the “right side” of history. Each of the movements is examined in detail and includes strong examples of the disconnect within each one. The impacts of race, gender, class, and consumerism are all explored with relevant historical context and modern examples from companies such as Uber, Grubhub, and Amazon.