What is Woke?

In a recent interview, General Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he didn’t know what “woke” meant but the military wasn’t “woke”.  This is a self- contradictory statement and illogical.  (Mister Spock would say if you can’t define “woke” then you can’t say you aren’t “woke”.)

“Woke” is consistently referred to as a form of Marxism, essentially communistic at its core.  But where thing get tricky is when you combine “social and cultural with Marxism.

Author James Lindsay indicated that the difference between “wokeism” (Marxism/communism/progressivism) and socialism is the kind of property they redistribute – “social and cultural capital in addition to economic and material capitol”.   Mao was a Marxist with Chinese characteristics, thus his “Little Red Book” to spell out his social and cultural ideas with religious fervor.

Lindsay went on to say that “woke” is supposed to advance equity in Europe by politically adjusting the various national economies so that citizens are equal.  Equality of opportunity is not important in such a consideration and that is where the now famous “woke” motto of the World Economic Forum comes from.  “You will own nothing and be happy” is marvelous communist redistribution thinking. 

While modern socialism is about political redistribution, modern communism isn’t about economic but social and cultural redistribution.  Thus, Marxist “wokeism” is about radical feminism, critical race theory, queer advancement, and, I add, the destruction of the existing history, religion, family and governmental structures of a nation.  Intersectionality binds all of these Marxist ideas together.

Lindsay does not consider Marx to be an economist.  In his earlier writings, Marx indicated  that “a man is a social being whose true nature has been forgotten to him.  Production, therefore, doesn’t just produce the goods and services of the economy,  it produces society itself, and society in turn produces man — At the end of history, mankind will remember that he is a social being, and will have a perfect communism that transcends private property.”  Interestingly, these words are consistent with the original Mayflower Compact.

Lindsay has a lot more to say in his discussions of “woke”.  How the race struggle replaces the class struggle.  How queer theory attacks normalcy.  How Europe is the oppressor and white supremacy is the cause.  At the heart of man’s problems is colonization, thus decolonization is the global socialist and communist solution.  Marx believed that colonial types of oppression needed to be attacked economically.  “Wokesim” adds in sociological and cultural means as well.

Lindsay, notes that social and cultural Marxism, or “wokeism”, is deliberately ill defined as a far right anti-Semitic conspiracy.  The intent is to obscure and then advance the modern foundation of the progressive movement with its identity politics and political correctness.

The bottom line is there is a reasoned definition of “woke” that is not very comforting to the USA or Western civilization.  The American Constitution, Rule of Law, Christianity, private property, liberty and life itself must give way under the new and arbitrary rules of “wokeism”.  The world government response to the COVID 19 situation is a good example of the “woke” attack on life and liberty.

If you think “big brother” is doing more than watching you, you are correct.  

Note:  The entirety of Lindsay’s remarks are available consist of a 30 minute speech at an event held by the Identity and Democracy Foundation in the European Parliament in March 2023.