“Wokeness” is more than a passing trend—it is a comprehensive worldview that now shapes academia, entertainment, politics, religion, education, business, technology, healthcare, and military and defense, progressing by the strategy of the “long march through the institutions”. While it presents itself as morally superior and socially just, it harbors deep contradictions that deserve a closer look. In this post, I will define wokeness, examine its various arenas, explain its core critiques of capitalism and traditional values in each, and offer a clear-eyed counter-critique of how it fails by its own standards.
What Is Wokeness?
Wokeness is an ideological framework rooted in critical theory, which views society through the lens of power, oppression, and systemic injustice. It emphasizes identity categories such as race, gender, sexuality, and class, and asserts that these identities determine one’s social experience and moral standing.
Wokeness seeks to “awaken” individuals to perceived injustices in all facets of life—whether real, exaggerated, or invented—and demands the dismantling of traditional institutions and values believed to uphold these injustices. It replaces concepts like objective truth, individual responsibility, and equal opportunity with constructs such as lived experience, group guilt, equity (not equality), and collective reparation.
This blog post examines how the principlesof wokeness operate within the specific institution, the critique of capitalism and traditional values that it presents, and a counter-critique that reveals the inconsistencies of wokeness as applied to the institution under examination,
1. The Family
Principles of Wokeness in the Family:
- The traditional nuclear family is considered a social construct rooted in patriarchy, white supremacy, and heteronormativity.
- Parenthood is decentered from biology and marriage and reframed around self-defined identities, including same-sex couples, polyamorous units, and communal child-rearing.
- Children are increasingly viewed as autonomous individuals entitled to independence from parental authority in areas such as gender identity, sexual expression, and ideological alignment.
- Motherhood and fatherhood are redefined or even erased in favor of gender-neutral parenting models.
Wokeness treats the family not as a pre-political, God-ordained institution, but as a power structure that can either perpetuate or dismantle systemic oppression. It insists that children must be protected not from external threats, but from traditional values passed down by parents, churches, or cultural heritage.
Critique of Capitalism:
- The family is criticized as an economic unit that perpetuates inequality through inheritance, wealth consolidation, and generational privilege.
- Stay-at-home motherhood is often devalued as unpaid labor that reinforces women’s economic dependence on men.
- Traditional families are seen as facilitators of capitalist production by producing compliant workers and consumers conditioned by hierarchy and obedience.
- Woke advocates promote collective or state-supported parenting models (e.g., universal childcare, family subsidies with strings attached) as more equitable.
According to this view, the capitalist system exploits the family both as a site of ideological conditioning and as an unpaid labor source. The answer is to liberate the individual from the expectations of family roles and redistribute parenting through government programs and social institutions.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- Marriage between one man and one woman is denounced as inherently patriarchal and heterosexist.
- Biblical models of family authority, headship, and discipline are labeled oppressive, even abusive.
- Gender roles such as father as provider and mother as nurturer are treated as arbitrary and restrictive.
- Cultural norms that place a high value on chastity, fidelity, and generational legacy are rebranded as “purity culture” or “toxic traditionalism.”
Wokeness substitutes the timeless family structure with fluid arrangements based on identity and self-expression. The result is an elevation of personal fulfillment and choice over duty, permanence, and intergenerational obligation.
Counter-Critique:
- Cultural Disintegration: Deconstructing the family has real-world consequences—rising fatherlessness, skyrocketing mental health issues in youth, and declining birth rates that threaten national sustainability.
- Ideological Confusion: Teaching children that their gender is a choice and that their parents may be oppressors injects psychological instability into the very institution meant to provide security.
- Economic Dependency: By attacking the family’s self-sufficiency, wokeness increases dependency on the state. Ironically, this creates more centralization of power rather than the liberation it promises.
- Suppression of Religious Liberty: Parents who object to gender ideology in schools, or refuse to affirm a child’s “transition,” increasingly face state interference—contradicting the principles of pluralism and parental rights.
- Moral Contradiction: While wokeness promotes “chosen families,” it simultaneously undermines the foundational institution of sacrificial love and lifelong commitment. The family ceases to be about giving and becomes about getting.
2. Religion and Spirituality
Principles of Wokeness in Faith Communities:
- Social justice gospel
- Reinterpretation of Scripture
- Inclusivity over orthodoxy
Critique of Capitalism:
- Capitalism is condemned as greed and injustice.
- Prosperity gospel is rejected (rightly), but replaced with socialistic theology.
- Traditional giving is reframed as reparations or redistribution.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- Biblical teachings on sexuality and sin are rejected.
- Male leadership and complementarianism are cast as oppressive.
- Evangelism is replaced with activism.
Counter-Critique:
- Theological Bankruptcy: Woke theology often denies original sin, eternal judgment, and salvation through Christ alone—making it indistinguishable from secular activism cloaked in religious terms.
- Church Decline: Denominations that embrace woke doctrines (e.g., the Episcopal Church, UCC, PCUSA) have hemorrhaged members, revealing that moral compromise does not produce revival.
- Cultural Surrender: Rather than being a prophetic voice, the woke church simply echoes the world’s values—offering no transcendent truth, hope, or moral clarity.
3. Human Sexuality
Principles of Wokeness in Human Sexuality:
- Wokeness redefines human sexuality as a fluid, socially constructed spectrum, rather than a biological or moral reality rooted in nature or design.
- Traditional categories—male and female, heterosexual and homosexual—are considered oppressive binaries that erase the lived experience of LGBTQ+ and “non-binary” individuals.
- Consent, self-expression, and personal identity replace moral or religious norms as the highest values governing sexual behavior.
- Public institutions (schools, libraries, medical systems) are expected to affirm all sexual and gender identities without judgment, often starting in early childhood education.
- Language surrounding sex and gender is rigorously policed: pronoun usage, terminology, and even silence on certain issues can be labeled as “harmful,” “hateful,” or “erasure.”
In the woke view, sexuality is a core identity marker and a means of personal liberation. It must be protected, celebrated, and normalized across every cultural institution.
Critique of Capitalism:
- Wokeness sees capitalism as a heteronormative force that historically promoted the nuclear family for economic control and labor stability.
- Advertising, media, and traditional gender roles are said to commodify sexuality—objectifying women, stigmatizing same-sex attraction, and reducing sex to consumer appeal.
- The marriage-based economic structure is criticized for entrenching gender inequality, penalizing single or non-conforming individuals, and restricting healthcare and legal rights to “approved” relationships.
- Some even argue that “reproductive capitalism” exploits women’s bodies through surrogacy, contraception markets, and commercial fertility industries, disproportionately affecting the poor and minorities.
In this narrative, capitalism exploits sexuality while forcing it into narrow, traditional molds. Wokeness demands a liberated, de-commercialized view of sex and gender unbound by historical norms or market structures.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- Christian sexual ethics—chastity, marriage between a man and a woman, fidelity—are seen as tools of oppression, rooted in patriarchy, religious fundamentalism, and colonialism.
- Abstinence education, moral teaching on homosexuality, and the defense of marriage are labeled as “harmful” or even “violence” against LGBTQ+ identities.
- The family model built around biblical sexual morality is criticized as repressive, especially for women, trans individuals, and those with alternative lifestyles.
- Parental rights in guiding children’s understanding of sex are increasingly challenged by schools and governments prioritizing state-sanctioned inclusivity over faith-based convictions.
In the woke sexual ethic, traditional morality is not just outdated—it is actively harmful, responsible for suicide, depression, and social exclusion of “queer” people.
Counter-Critique:
- Denial of Reality: Wokeness divorces sexuality from biology, psychology, and history. While claiming to honor science, it ignores basic truths about male and female, reproductive design, and the complementarity of the sexes.
- Moral Incoherence: The exaltation of consent alone cannot justify all behavior. Morality must account for truth, virtue, and the created order, not just mutual agreement or subjective identity.
- Destruction of the Family: By undermining marriage, fidelity, and natural complementarity, woke sexuality erodes the bedrock of civilization—the family unit that nurtures children, stabilizes society, and transmits values.
- Victimization Culture: Wokeness turns natural moral boundaries into psychological “trauma.” It discourages resilience, fosters fragility, and often encourages confusion in children rather than clarity and guidance.
- Medical Exploitation: Gender ideology especially opens the door to irreversible damage through puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries—often promoted without long-term studies, parental consent, or full understanding of the risks.
- Sexualization of Youth: Under the guise of inclusion, woke curricula increasingly introduce explicit materials to children, eroding innocence and undermining parental authority in moral instruction.
- Rejection of God’s Design: Fundamentally, the woke view denies that sex has a purpose beyond pleasure or self-expression. It rejects the created design for human flourishing, substituting autonomy for holiness and liberty for license.
4. K–12 Education
Principles of Wokeness in Schools:
- CRT and gender ideology in curriculum
- American history taught through oppression narratives
- SEL used to push progressive ethics
Critique of Capitalism:
- Private property and markets are cast as exploitative.
- American founding principles are recast as racist economic motives.
- Entrepreneurship is replaced with calls for activism.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- Parents are obstacles to progress.
- Masculinity and patriotism are pathologized.
- Religion is marginalized or demonized.
Counter-Critique:
- Educational Collapse: Emphasis on ideology over literacy, math, and science has led to plummeting test scores and functional illiteracy in many districts.
- Parental Backlash: The refusal to involve or inform parents has sparked widespread movements to reclaim local school boards and curricula.
- Emotional Exploitation: SEL can blur the line between teaching and psychological manipulation, grooming children into activist identities without maturity or consent.
5. Academia
Principles of Wokeness in Academia:
- Promotion of critical theory
- Reinterpretation of history through oppression
- Decentering of Western civilization
- “Lived experience” over objective knowledge
Critique of Capitalism:
- Capitalism is viewed as systemic oppression.
- Meritocracy is rejected in favor of “equity.”
- Entrepreneurship is de-emphasized in favor of structural critique.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- Western philosophy and morality are framed as tools of hegemony1.
- The family, religion, and patriotism are dismissed as regressive.
- Classical literature and history are reinterpreted through race/gender lenses.
Counter-Critique:
- Self-Destructive Logic: Woke academics often use the fruits of the Western tradition—free inquiry, tenure protections, liberal education—to destroy the very system that makes their careers possible.
- Hypocrisy on Privilege: Elite universities, disproportionately serving wealthy and upper-middle-class students, claim to fight privilege while enforcing ideological conformity and increasing tuition beyond reach for the average American.
- Suppression of Free Thought: Despite claiming to embrace diversity, woke academia is often hostile to intellectual diversity, shutting down dissenting views through cancellation, public shaming, or institutional censure.
6. The Economy
Principles of Wokeness in the Economic Arena:
- Economic disparities are attributed not merely to market outcomes or work ethic, but to systemic oppression—racism, sexism, ableism, and other forms of “structural inequality.”
- The goal of economic justice is redefined as equity of outcomes, not opportunity—requiring state intervention, corporate compliance, and redistribution of wealth based on identity.
- Private businesses, especially large corporations, are pressured or incentivized to adopt Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks, often emphasizing DEI policies over shareholder returns.
- Entrepreneurship and capitalism are suspect unless tied to a “marginalized” identity or a progressive cause. Wokeness champions “stakeholder capitalism” over shareholder profit, prioritizing activism over productivity.
In this view, the economy is not a neutral arena of voluntary exchange but a battlefield where historical injustices are perpetuated unless actively dismantled by law, policy, and corporate virtue signaling.
Critique of Capitalism:
- Capitalism is portrayed as a system built on exploitation—first of slaves, then of workers, and now of marginalized groups excluded from generational wealth and opportunity.
- Free markets are condemned for tolerating inequality, rewarding privilege, and concentrating wealth in the hands of elites.
- Economic liberty is viewed as a smokescreen for entrenched power—especially white, male, heterosexual power.
- Global capitalism is said to sustain colonialist dynamics by exploiting developing nations through unfair labor and resource extraction.
Under the woke critique, capitalism itself is inherently unjust unless it is radically restructured to serve progressive redistribution and identity-based equity.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- Traditional economic virtues—hard work, thrift, delayed gratification, property rights, and entrepreneurship—are reinterpreted as cultural biases used to exclude minorities or preserve the status quo.
- Family businesses, inheritance, and generational wealth are denounced as mechanisms of intergenerational inequality.
- Workplace discipline, punctuality, and professionalism are criticized as artifacts of “white cultural norms.”
- The Protestant work ethic is rejected as a tool of oppression, used historically to moralize economic hierarchy.
Rather than celebrating economic freedom and responsibility, wokeness replaces these with narratives of victimhood and entitlement, suggesting that fairness is impossible without constant correction of disparities by external forces.
Counter-Critique:
- Misdiagnosis of Injustice: Economic inequality does not always mean economic injustice. Differences in outcome often reflect differences in choices, skills, family stability, and education—not discrimination.
- Equity Undermines Excellence: Forcing equal outcomes by identity quotas or redistribution schemes stifles innovation, rewards mediocrity, and punishes excellence—leading to economic stagnation.
- Punishing Success: Demonizing the successful as “oppressors” regardless of their merit or sacrifice discourages investment, risk-taking, and job creation. A society cannot thrive by making envy a policy.
- Dependency over Dignity: Redistribution without responsibility fosters dependence and entitlement rather than dignity and independence. Charity becomes a tool of control, not compassion.
- Marxist Echoes: Woke economics mirrors old Marxist class warfare, simply swapping “bourgeoisie vs. proletariat” for “oppressors vs. oppressed” based on race, gender, or sexuality. It repackages failed 20th-century ideas in new moralistic terms.
- Corporate Hypocrisy: Many woke corporations that champion social justice causes simultaneously exploit cheap foreign labor, dodge taxes, and profit from regimes like China’s. Their DEI posturing is often public relations camouflage, not conviction.
7. Media and Communication
Principles of Wokeness in Media and Communication:
- The woke view holds that language and narrative shape reality—so control of media means control over culture, morality, and even identity.
- “Representation” is paramount. Media must reflect the correct balance of race, gender, sexuality, and other identity categories, regardless of audience demand or historical accuracy.
- Objectivity is rejected in favor of “narrative justice”—the idea that truth must serve social progress and uplift marginalized voices, even if it means distorting facts.
- Newsrooms and entertainment companies implement DEI mandates, sensitivity readers, and identity-based hiring quotas, often leading to self-censorship and ideological conformity.
In this context, journalism, film, publishing, and social media platforms are not neutral conduits of information or art, but battlegrounds for ideological reeducation and cultural transformation.
Critique of Capitalism:
- Corporate-owned media are accused of being tools of capitalist manipulation—selling consumerism, normalizing inequality, and marginalizing dissent.
- Wokeness critiques how conglomerates and advertisers allegedly commodify culture, exploit identity for profit, and drown out authentic voices from below.
- Independent creators who resist woke norms are often “deplatformed” or algorithmically suppressed on major platforms, especially if their content critiques ESG priorities or progressive ideologies.
- Social media companies are urged to adopt policies that police “misinformation,” “hate speech,” or “harmful content”—terms often used as ideological weapons.
The claim is that capitalist media reinforce systems of power by pretending to be neutral, when in fact they are gatekeepers of narrative dominance. Wokeness insists they be overtly re-engineered to advance social justice.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- Free speech is no longer viewed as an absolute good, but as a potential harm to protected classes if it contradicts woke dogma.
- Religious perspectives, especially conservative Christian ones, are routinely labeled as bigoted, harmful, or out of bounds.
- Patriotism, masculinity, traditional morality, and Western cultural heritage are frequently portrayed as villains in entertainment and journalism.
- Media stories promoting virtue, family, and faith are either minimized or reinterpreted through cynical or progressive lenses.
Under wokeness, media must not reflect society as it is or has been, but as activists think it should be. Traditional values are obstacles to progress, to be deconstructed and replaced by inclusive ideology and postmodern narratives.
Counter-Critique:
- Loss of Trust: By abandoning objectivity and embracing narrative activism, media institutions have forfeited the public’s trust. Americans across the spectrum now question whether they’re getting facts or political fiction.
- Censorship in Disguise: The woke war on “misinformation” has become a tool for silencing dissent—especially when that dissent challenges progressive policies, globalist agendas, or sexual ethics.
- Hypocritical Elites: Many of the loudest woke voices in media enjoy elite status, wealth, and privilege. Their advocacy for “equity” often masks their own social insulation from the consequences of the ideologies they promote.
- Attack on Freedom of Expression: Once the proud defenders of the First Amendment, woke media figures now argue that “harmful” ideas should be banned. But suppressing speech doesn’t create harmony—it creates resentment, alienation, and backlash.
- Artistic Decline: In entertainment, woke constraints have stifled creativity. Storytelling has been replaced by preaching. Audiences tune out not because they hate diversity, but because they recognize propaganda when they see it.
- Digital Authoritarianism: Social media companies act like unelected censors, shaping global discourse through shadow-banning, demonetization, and algorithmic bias—all in the name of progress, but often in service to power.
8. Corporate Culture and Human Resources
Principles of Wokeness in the Workplace:
- DEI initiatives and training
- Anti-racism seminars
- Brand alignment with social justice causes
Critique of Capitalism:
- Corporate structures are framed as unjust hierarchies.
- Equity over merit and profits.
- Pressure to conform to identity politics in hiring and promotion.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- Workplace ethics like punctuality and competition are “white supremacist.”
- Masculinity and religious expression are viewed as potential threats to inclusion.
- Traditional professionalism is reframed as oppressive.
Counter-Critique:
- Performative Activism: Many corporations adopt woke language not out of principle but for PR—cynically promoting “equity” in marketing while offshoring jobs to sweatshops or exploiting cheap labor.
- Incoherence of Equity: Equity undermines trust and morale when less-qualified individuals are hired or promoted based on group identity rather than merit, breeding quiet resentment and inefficiency.
- Corporate Authoritarianism: HR departments now function like ideological enforcers, where a single misstep in language can end careers—ironically mirroring the oppressive systems they claim to oppose.
9. Entertainment and Popular Culture
Principles of Wokeness in Media and Arts:
- Emphasis on representation
- Revisionist storytelling
- Cancel culture against non-conforming artists
Critique of Capitalism:
- Big studios are criticized for favoring profits over justice.
- Independent creators are seen as morally superior.
- Market-driven content is denigrated in favor of progressive narratives.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- Traditional family structures are portrayed as backward.
- Biblical and patriotic themes are mocked or inverted.
- Masculine heroes and national symbols are deconstructed.
Counter-Critique:
- Audience Rejection: Many woke-themed films and shows flop because they prioritize message over story, alienating mainstream audiences—proving that ideological art often lacks artistic or commercial appeal.
- Selective Tolerance: Hollywood decries systemic injustice while profiting off violence, sexual exploitation, and glamorization of sin—its own moral contradictions are glaring.
- Elitism Disguised as Advocacy: Celebrity activists preach social justice while living lavish, carbon-intensive lifestyles—revealing the hypocrisy of their moral posturing.
10. Government and Law
Principles of Wokeness in Public Policy:
- Equity-driven policies
- Restorative justice
- Redistribution for reparative purposes
Critique of Capitalism:
- Free enterprise is seen as unjust.
- Wealth is redistributed based on historical grievances.
- Profit motives are subordinated to equity demands.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- The Constitution is called racist and outdated.
- Traditional jurisprudence is rejected for group-based justice.
- National sovereignty is undermined in favor of global norms.
Counter-Critique:
- Erosion of Rule of Law: Identity-based justice leads to unequal treatment under the law, undermining fairness and creating resentment among law-abiding citizens.
- Inversion of Justice: Restorative models often protect the criminal and ignore the victim, leading to spikes in crime, urban decay, and social instability.
- Statist Power Grab: Under the guise of equity, bureaucrats expand government control, erode personal responsibility, and curtail freedoms—paradoxically becoming more oppressive than the systems they replace.
11. Technology and Social Media
Principles of Wokeness in Tech Platforms:
- Censorship of dissent
- Algorithmic activism
- Deplatforming of “harmful” content
Critique of Capitalism:
- Big Tech is criticized for being profit-driven and insufficiently activist.
- Calls for government regulation to enforce content “equity.”
- Algorithms are accused of perpetuating systemic bias.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- Conservative content is often suppressed or demonetized.
- Christian ethics and national pride are flagged as “harmful.”
- Traditional views are recast as disinformation or hate.
Counter-Critique:
- Digital Authoritarianism: Wokeness in tech mimics the behavior of state censors—silencing speech not through reason, but through brute force moderation and biased algorithms.
- Inconsistent Standards: Anti-American, anti-Christian, and even violent content is tolerated, while fact-based conservative views are restricted—exposing ideological double standards.
- Collapse of Trust: As platforms become arbiters of truth, users lose faith in their neutrality and migrate to alternative services, fragmenting public discourse and increasing polarization.
12. Health and Medicine
Principles of Wokeness in Health and Medicine:
- Emphasis on “health equity” over equal treatment
- Race-based medical policy and access initiatives
- Gender ideology driving treatment protocols
- Redefinition of health as a social and political construct
Wokeness in healthcare is driven by the belief that disparities in health outcomes are primarily caused by systemic racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression. This framework promotes race-conscious treatment, preferred gender affirming care, and public health as social justice activism.
Medical education is increasingly framed around critical theory, with students taught to view clinical care through identity categories rather than individualized diagnosis and evidence-based medicine.
Critique of Capitalism:
- The profit motive in healthcare is seen as inherently unjust.
- Private healthcare and insurance systems are condemned for creating “health disparities.”
- Pharmaceutical companies are targeted as symbols of “medical capitalism” that prioritize shareholder profit over public good.
- Advocates push for single-payer or “universal” models, not for efficiency, but as reparative justice.
From the woke view, capitalism commodifies health, turning it into a product rather than a right. The solution is greater government control, redistribution, and identity-based allocation of care.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- The Hippocratic Oath and classical ethics are seen as outmoded and Eurocentric.
- Objective biological definitions of sex are labeled as “transphobic.”
- Religious objections to abortion, euthanasia, or gender-transition procedures are marginalized or punished.
- The traditional family as the unit of health support is deemphasized in favor of the state or peer-defined identity networks.
Wokeness replaces the doctor-patient covenant—rooted in trust, moral objectivity, and human dignity—with a politicized framework that prioritizes power dynamics and group identity over individual care.
Counter-Critique:
- Scientific Undermining: When medical science is subordinated to ideology, patient safety is endangered. For example, discouraging doctors from recognizing biological sex in diagnosis or treatment creates real medical risk—especially for women and children.
- Moral Inversion: Under the guise of compassion, wokeness endorses procedures like sterilization of minors through hormone treatments or puberty blockers, despite a lack of long-term safety data. It calls this “affirming care” while dismissing concerns as bigotry.
- Healthcare Inefficiency and Distrust: Prioritizing identity over urgency or need undermines the principle of triage. It also alienates patients who sense they are being judged not as individuals, but through the lens of skin color, sexual orientation, or politics.
- Religious and Conscience Suppression: Nurses and physicians who refuse to participate in abortions or gender transitions for religious reasons are increasingly threatened with job loss or legal penalty—contradicting the very diversity and inclusion that wokeness claims to uphold.
- Elite Exploitation of the Poor: Ironically, policies meant to redistribute care often result in lower standards of care for poor communities, as ideological mandates consume resources that could go toward basic, life-saving treatment.
13. Military and Defense
Principles of Wokeness in the Military:
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are prioritized as core values—even above combat readiness.
- Emphasis on eliminating “systemic racism,” “white privilege,” and “toxic masculinity” within the ranks.
- Promotion and leadership selection increasingly influenced by identity criteria rather than strictly merit and experience.
- Mandatory sensitivity training, pronoun protocols, and “unconscious bias” education even in combat units.
The woke framework views the military not first as a fighting force to defend the nation, but as a platform for social transformation. Traditional military virtues such as honor, duty, and sacrifice are reinterpreted through the lens of critical theory. Instead of a brotherhood (or sisterhood) built on shared purpose, wokeness envisions a coalition of marginalized identities seeking validation and representation.
Critique of Capitalism:
- The U.S. military-industrial complex is portrayed as a manifestation of capitalist imperialism—profiting from war and global power projection.
- Defense spending is condemned as a tool of corporate enrichment, benefiting weapons manufacturers and “neocolonial” interests.
- Woke criticism often links the military to fossil fuel dependency, global capitalism, and resource exploitation in the Global South.
According to this critique, the armed forces serve capitalist elites, not the people. National security is considered a pretext for profit and oppression, and peace is framed as something achievable only through deconstruction of Western capitalist systems.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- Warrior ethos and masculinity are branded as relics of patriarchy and cultural toxicity.
- Obedience to authority and chain of command are viewed suspiciously as mechanisms of oppression.
- Patriotism and loyalty to nation are criticized as exclusionary or xenophobic.
- Military history and honors (e.g., statues, unit names) are reevaluated through postcolonial or racial lenses, leading to renaming bases and reevaluating heroes.
Wokeness tends to cast the U.S. military tradition as a symbol of historic injustice—colonialism, slavery, and systemic racism—rather than valor, defense, or peacekeeping. Its goal is to reframe the institution into a force for “equity” and global justice rather than national defense.
Counter-Critique:
- Readiness Undermined: Prioritizing ideological conformity over combat training dilutes unit cohesion, erodes morale, and weakens readiness. A fighting force distracted by internal politics is less prepared for external threats.
- Contradiction of Meritocracy: Wokeness claims to oppose privilege, yet it introduces new privileges based on identity politics. Promotions based on race or gender quotas violate fairness and demoralize truly capable soldiers.
- Weaponized Guilt: Rather than inspiring courage and service, woke military leadership burdens recruits with collective guilt over past injustices. This disillusionment fosters disengagement rather than dedication.
- Erosion of Moral Authority: By redefining military service through a lens of activism, the institution risks losing the public’s trust and respect. Service members become political pawns instead of national protectors.
- Elitist Hypocrisy: While woke elites decry “militarism,” they often demand the military enforce domestic political agendas—such as DEI enforcement, climate compliance, or pandemic lockdowns—revealing their real goal: not peace, but control.
14. Arts and Culture
Principles of Wokeness in Arts and Culture:
- Art is no longer valued primarily for beauty, truth, or excellence, but for its capacity to advance social justice and challenge power structures.
- Cultural production must “center marginalized voices” and de-center dominant narratives, especially those rooted in whiteness, Christianity, masculinity, or Western civilization.
- Traditional aesthetic standards—symmetry, proportion, skill, harmony—are treated as instruments of cultural oppression, used to exclude minority artists or non-Western forms.
- Museums, theaters, and universities are pressed to “decolonize” their collections, revise canons, and publicly apologize for exhibiting or celebrating “problematic” figures.
- Woke cultural institutions impose ideological tests on artists and performers, demanding alignment with progressive dogma on race, gender, and sexuality.
In this worldview, culture is a battleground where identity, not inspiration, determines artistic legitimacy. The goal is no longer beauty, but equity through disruption.
Critique of Capitalism:
- Wokeness asserts that capitalism reduces art to a commodity—an object sold for mass consumption, stripped of authenticity and soul.
- It critiques the “gatekeeping” function of the art market, which allegedly favors white male artists and Western elites while excluding indigenous and minority creators.
- Cultural capitalism is said to reward conformity to profit-driven tastes, thus marginalizing “dissenting” or revolutionary voices.
- The entertainment industry, even when progressive in rhetoric, is condemned for exploiting identity while reaping billions from global audiences.
This anti-capitalist lens views the art world not as a realm of individual genius and free expression, but as a structural hierarchy built on exclusion, elitism, and exploitation.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- Classical art and literature are seen as relics of colonialism and patriarchy. Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Bach—these names are suspect because they embody a Western, male, Christian worldview.
- Institutions that preserve tradition (opera houses, historical museums, academic syllabi) are viewed as morally compromised unless they radically revise their scope.
- Cultural expressions grounded in faith, nationalism, or tradition are dismissed as simplistic, oppressive, or culturally regressive.
- Even folklore and holiday traditions are subjected to re-analysis, with Christmas, Thanksgiving, or patriotic observances rebranded as problematic expressions of imperialism or systemic injustice.
Rather than celebrating cultural continuity, woke arts and culture promote constant redefinition—exalting novelty and subversion over mastery and moral clarity.
Counter-Critique:
- Loss of Objective Standards: By rejecting excellence as a “colonial construct,” woke culture opens the floodgates to mediocrity. Art loses its power to elevate the soul when it is judged by identity rather than merit.
- Historical Amnesia: The purge of traditional figures from museums and syllabi disconnects younger generations from the legacy of civilization. To erase Bach or Rembrandt is not to empower others—it is to impoverish everyone.
- Ideological Conformity: Instead of liberating artists, wokeness shackles them with ideological expectations. Only certain themes, identities, and messages are allowed. Dissenting voices are labeled dangerous and silenced.
- Cultural Cannibalism: Wokeness often eats its own. Progressive artists are denounced for past sins or insufficient orthodoxy. The result is a climate of fear, not freedom.
- Alienation of Audiences: Much of the public is tired of being lectured by entertainers or seeing beloved stories rewritten through a political lens. Woke art disconnects from real life, failing to inspire, unify, or endure.
- Cynical Commercialism: Ironically, many corporations that push woke art do so not out of conviction but calculation—using virtue-signaling to protect their brand while they exploit global labor markets or silence dissent abroad.
15. Science and Technology
Principles of Wokeness in Science and Technology:
- Science is no longer seen as an objective pursuit of truth, but as a social construct shaped by power, privilege, and institutional bias.
- Wokeness reframes scientific disciplines through identity lenses, arguing that science has historically excluded or marginalized women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ individuals.
- Research institutions are expected to incorporate DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) mandates, not only in hiring but in the framing of research questions and allocation of funding.
- Fields like mathematics, engineering, and computer science are targeted for “decolonization,” with efforts to dismantle “Eurocentric” frameworks and re-center indigenous or non-Western knowledge systems.
- The technology sector is expected to create platforms that amplify marginalized voices, censor “harmful” content, and redesign algorithms to reflect equity goals, not neutrality.
In the woke paradigm, science and technology must be re-engineered not just to advance discovery but to correct historical wrongs and promote identity-based justice.
Critique of Capitalism:
- Wokeness views the private tech sector with suspicion, charging it with profiting from exploitation, data mining, surveillance capitalism, and environmental degradation.
- Capitalism is blamed for turning science into a tool of corporate greed—funding only profitable research while ignoring social needs like climate change mitigation, healthcare equity, or racial disparities in medicine.
- Pharmaceutical companies are condemned for “medical racism” and for allegedly ignoring or mistreating marginalized communities, even as they produce life-saving treatments.
- Big Tech companies are accused of entrenching inequality, enriching elites, and suppressing democratic discourse through opaque algorithms and biased moderation.
Under this critique, science and technology are not trusted as neutral engines of human progress but are viewed as tools of oppression—unless subordinated to progressive moral goals.
Critique of Traditional Values:
- The traditional view of science as a meritocratic, objective, apolitical discipline is rejected as a myth. Woke ideology claims this ideal masks deep-seated racial, gender, and colonial biases.
- Reverence for figures like Isaac Newton, Galileo, or Darwin is challenged as an endorsement of Western supremacy. Some institutions seek to “contextualize” their contributions with critiques of race or gender.
- The Western scientific method—hypothesis, experimentation, peer review—is considered a culturally specific epistemology, not a universal standard of truth.
- Ethics rooted in biblical or natural law frameworks are dismissed as obstacles to progressive innovation, particularly in areas like genetic editing, transgender medicine, or AI development.
Traditional values in science—truth, objectivity, discipline, and humility before creation—are recast as gatekeeping mechanisms that inhibit liberation and social change.
Counter-Critique:
- Ideology Over Evidence: When science is subordinated to ideology, it ceases to be science. Prioritizing diversity quotas or political correctness over competence and rigor destroys credibility and hinders innovation.
- Denial of Universality: The claim that logic, math, or the scientific method are culturally biased ignores their universal applicability—across civilizations, religions, and time. Gravity works in Ghana and Geneva alike.
- Political Corruption of Science: COVID-19 showed how public trust in science collapses when politicians and media manipulate data for ideological or partisan purposes. Woke science multiplies that distrust.
- Suppression of Dissent: Scientists who challenge progressive dogma—on climate models, gender identity, or race-based medicine—are silenced, shamed, or defunded. This chills debate and punishes curiosity.
- Weaponizing Technology: While decrying oppression, woke technocrats increasingly deploy tech to censor, monitor, and enforce conformity. Orwell’s dystopia is rebranded as digital equity enforcement.
- Merit Still Matters: Space travel, clean water, cancer treatments, and cyber defense are not achieved by identity politics. They require discipline, talent, and freedom of thought—not forced diversity or decolonization rituals.
Conclusion
Wokeness has metastasized into every major institution in Western life, offering a relentless critique of capitalism and traditional values. Yet in each sphere, its internal contradictions reveal a dangerous truth: the woke movement often lacks both consistency and a coherent moral foundation. It demands tolerance but punishes dissent, preaches equality while practicing favoritism, and uses the tools of Western liberty to undermine the civilization that created them.
The solution is not silence, but clear-sighted engagement—upholding eternal truths and common sense against the ideological tides of the age.
Robert Sparkman
1 Hegemony in relation to wokeness refers to the cultural, intellectual, and institutional dominance of a progressive worldview that enforces conformity and delegitimizes dissent. It functions not just by winning arguments, but by controlling the language, shaping public morality, and coercing submission to its values.
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Christopher F. Rufo is an excellent journalist on the topic of wokeness. The video below focuses upon the Long March Through the Institutions. This term describes the conscientious effort by the Cultural Marxists to infiltrate every arena of human society with its worldview. It was coined by Rudi Dutschke, German sociologist and political activist.
Concerning the Related Content section, I encourage everyone to evaluate the content carefully.
Some sources of information may reflect a libertarian and/or atheistic perspective. I may not agree with all of their opinions, but they offer some worthwhile comments on the topic under discussion.
Additionally, language used in the videos may be coarse and do not reflect my personal standards, particularly in regards to leftist protesters and rioters.
Finally, those on the left often criticize my sources of information, which are primarily conservative and/or Christian. Truth is truth, regardless of how we feel about it. Leftists are largely led by their emotion rather than facts. It is no small wonder that they would criticize the sources that I provide. And, ultimately, my wordview is governed by Scripture. Many of my critics are not biblical Christians.
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