Wokeness doesn’t work. At least that’s the opinion of political commentator Douglas Murray.
Murray’s belief is that society’s growing awareness of people’s differences has led to more problems than solutions. This relentless emphasis on difference has led to a worthless consideration of injustice without any action to help people overcome it.
Groups that people have tried to form on the basis of identity and oppression are not even stable or internally consistent, because a hierarchy of oppression and victimhood inevitably emerges within each group. Everyone agrees that oppression exists: the problem is that not everyone agrees on who’s the most oppressed.
New systems are being built on group identities that are not fully understood—and social justice will never succeed on such flimsy foundations. Instead of seeing oppression everywhere, groups that feel victimized should look for constructive solutions to social problems, and build toward mutual understanding instead of constant division.
To learn more about Murray’s critique of identity politics, head over to our Instaread on The Madness of Crowds.
