May 4, 2025

The term woke gets thrown around a lot in contemporary political and social discussion. It seems however that people are using different definitions of the term and because of that are often talking past each other. The term has some value as it captures a large swath of related ideas but sometimes it is stretched too far both by those who use it in a good way and those who use it in a derogatory way. So, what exactly is woke as currently used?

In its current form wokeness goes back to Karl Marx. Marx applied the Hegelian dialectic to economics and envisioned a synthesis which would offer economic freedom to the oppressed (proletariat) from their capitalist overlords (bourgeois). Marx’s economic theory has held great appeal for many despite its catastrophic consequences manifested in cruel regimes around the world. 

Not long after Marx, certain academics, especially those of the Frankfurt school and then the institution for social research at Columbia university, applied Marx’s economic division to sociology. They agreed with Marx about the oppressor- oppressed power dynamic but deemed it to be a cultural division rather than an economic one. Thus, liberation could be achieved not by the economic implementation of communism or socialism but by sweeping cultural change. There remains a strong sympathy for communism and socialism they simply don’t go far enough. 

Shortly after and somewhat during the sociological influence of the Frankfurt School came the Postmodernists. These scholars contributed a key idea to the oppressor oppressed social conception. The cultural oppression described above was achieved through meta-narratives (an overarching understanding of how the world works). Jean-Francis Leotard defined postmodernism as “incredulity toward meta-narratives.” To be truly free the oppressed must be released from truth itself. 

It’s not capitalists oppressing the workers, rather, its Western culture oppressing subordinate cultures. To achieve liberation, it is necessary to help people see this oppression and being aware of it respond accordingly. Those who engage in the effort to identify oppression/ oppressive ideas, make people aware of it, and cause them to respond to it, are called Critical Theorists. This is the academic term, the layman term for adherents to Critical Theory is “woke.” 

Many who call themselves woke, don’t want to see an end to western civilization. They don’t want to usher in a communist/ socialist regime. They still believe truth is knowable and actionable. They have just been tricked by a good marketing ploy which says if you are compassionate and want to help people then you are woke. When in fact the term carries a host of political and ideological baggage. Many left leaning politicians are actually woke which is why some myself included have responded so negatively to them, and fought so hard to keep them out of power. 

I would urge the reader to consider a further matter which can be discussed later. Can/ should a Christian be woke?

~ Kevin Cleary