We Have Never Been Woke

The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite

By: Musa al-Gharbi

Narrated by: Musa al-Gharbi

Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

How a new “woke” elite uses the language of social justice to gain more power and status—without helping the marginalized and disadvantaged

Society has never been more egalitarian—in theory. Prejudice is taboo, and diversity is strongly valued. At the same time, social and economic inequality have exploded. In We Have Never Been Woke, Musa al-Gharbi argues that these trends are closely related, each tied to the rise of a new elite—the symbolic capitalists. In education, media, nonprofits, and beyond, members of this elite work primarily with words, ideas, images, and data, and are very likely to identify as allies of antiracist, feminist, LGBTQ, and other progressive causes. Their dominant ideology is “wokeness” and, while their commitment to equality is sincere, they actively benefit from and perpetuate the inequalities they decry. Indeed, their egalitarian credentials help them gain more power and status, often at the expense of the marginalized and disadvantaged.

We Have Never Been Woke details how the language of social justice is increasingly used to justify this elite—and to portray the losers in the knowledge economy as deserving their lot because they think or say the “wrong” things about race, gender, and sexuality. Al-Gharbi’s point is not to accuse symbolic capitalists of hypocrisy or cynicism. Rather, he examines how their genuine beliefs prevent them from recognizing how they contribute to social problems—or how their actions regularly provoke backlash against the social justice causes they champion.

A powerful critique, We Have Never Been Woke reveals that only by challenging this elite’s self-serving narratives can we hope to address social and economic inequality effectively.

“In this important and timely book, Musa al-Gharbi describes the rise of the ‘symbolic capitalists,’ and how an ideology has evolved to cement their power and restrict entry from outsiders. We Have Never Been Woke effectively addresses a wide readership on this contentious issue.”—Tyler Cowen, George Mason University

©2024 Musa al-Gharbi (P)2024 Recorded Books

Fascinating Perspective

Gives a lot of perspective as to why we are where we are in the state of America. Fascinating take on what Elite really means.

Insightful view into “symbolic capitalists”

The author explores “awokenings”, covering the instantiation, motivation, and impacts of these events. The book seems to obliquely reference McWhorter’s latest book, while providing in some ways a more satisfying explanation for similarly observed phenomenon.

This book is a fairly advanced reading level and academic text, including a review of Marxism and critical theories.

Despite mentioning Piketty, I think the author is too dismissive of what is labeled the “super-elite”, eliding the moral and practical differences between earned income and the vast sums of inherited wealth.

The author narration is enjoyable, though at times it is clear the distance from the microphone varied during edits.

Smart and well developed thesis.

Easy to follow and thought provoking. A book all should read to make heads and tails of these times we live in.

First class

This book presents a well-reasoned and well-presented view that establishes a clear structure for speaking and thinking about topics usually given as part of a morality play.

Wokeness

I thought I would gain an understanding of the concept of woke…whew, I was wrong.