Posted on 05/17/2025 5:14:51 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Woke may be dying, but history warns: every collapse of the left births a new epoch—often more radical than the last.
The other day, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by Eric Kaufmann, a professor of politics at the University of Buckingham in England, proclaiming the death of woke and the end of the Progressive Era. This is more than a “vibe-shift,” Kaufmann writes; it’s “the end of the 60-year rise of left-liberalism in American culture.” He continues, arguing that the backlash against the left’s aggressive embrace of identity politics and its imposition of that politics on every aspect of our lives is far more profound and widespread than the 1990s reaction to “political correctness” and has even seeped into the left’s own organs of cultural transmission, including the mainstream media. This, in turn, has created a crisis of confidence among cultural liberals, leaving them disorganized, despondent, and marking the end of “the age of progressive confidence.”
On the one hand, I think Kaufmann is unequivocally right about all of this. I have written about the death of woke and the end of this current era of leftism myself, and I believe that Kaufmann has identified the causes and indications of the cultural left’s collapse quite nicely and succinctly.
On the other hand, I’m not sure that the death of woke will necessarily be the panacea some might hope. As even Professor Kaufmann concedes, “What replaces progressivism as our cultural lodestar will become evident only in the fullness of time.” Unfortunately, if past is prologue, “progressivism’s” replacement may well be even worse.
If one looks at the totality of the history of the left—from its bloody birth in the Enlightenment and the French Revolution to the present—then neither the death of woke nor my apprehension about the future should come as much of a surprise. Since the beginning, the left has progressed through a series of conceptual epochs, each lasting a handful of decades, following similar patterns: intellectual inception followed by slow but sure growth, resulting, eventually, in cultural domination, and then a swift demise related to its inability to deliver upon the millenarian promises it made.
The rise and progression of the left is presaged by the Enlightenment and, especially, by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the intellectual godfather of the left. The Enlightenment purposefully destroyed the old moral order, which had existed for roughly 2000 years, and attempted to replace it with a moral order based exclusively on reason, as opposed to the “superstitions” of the past. Given that the Enlightenment both caused and bled into the French Revolution, I think it’s fair to say that the post-Enlightenment period begins around 1799, with Napoleon’s ascent to power and the end of the revolution. This, then, can also be taken as the starting date for the First Epoch in the left as a political enterprise.
This First Epoch is distinguished mostly by its heterogeneity and, in some ways, its genial naivete. It saw the rise of Utopian Socialism in France and Great Britain and of philosophical leftism, primarily in Germany (Kant and Hegel, most notably). The ideas that dominated this epoch included ethical systems with foundations not derived from the supernatural and radical egalitarianism. Francois-Noel (“Gracchus”) Babeuf became the first true champion of the latter of these and, through the efforts and writings of Giuseppe Maria Lodovico Buonarroti, became an inspiration for the early communists and, in time, for Marx and Engels as well. The First Epoch is marked mostly by confusion, contradiction, and slow but sure formulation of a grand utopian scheme.
That basic, naive scheme failed to produce much by way of political reform, however, and by 1848, the men and women of Europe were tired, disappointed, and in the mood for radical change. From Napoleon’s ascent to the revolutions of 1848 and the concomitant publication of The Communist Manifesto was 49 years. During this period, the ideas constituting “the left” took form, namely its essential ethical justification and its basic economic scheme, but meaningful political progress remained elusive. And thus ends the First Epoch.
The Second Epoch in the evolution of the left can probably be said to start in 1867 with the publication of the first volume of Marx’s Kapital, his magnum opus, and with the subsequent rise of more overtly political and less strictly intellectual efforts to move the left’s agenda into the broader public domain. From 1867 on into the early twentieth century, the left was characterized by the dominance of Marxism (as described by Marx), as well as the rise of more practical competing and complementary efforts to turn the leftist vision into political reality (Syndicalism and Anarchy in Europe, Pragmatism and Progressivism in the United States). The Second Epoch was also, however, marked by the complete collapse of Marx’s vision with the onset of World War I. Marx had insisted that, under such circumstances, the “workers of the world” would “unite” and throw off their chains, choosing class solidarity over national allegiance. The Great War, of course, proved otherwise. Its onset, in 1914—47 years after the publication of Marx’s opus—signified the end of the Second Epoch, the epoch of Marx.
The Third Epoch can be said to start with the publication, in 1923, of György Lukács’s own magnum opus, History and Class Consciousness. Although there are many people and many works to pick from in this era, I’ll use Lukács and his book as the epochal marker because he is generally acknowledged to be the father of “cultural Marxism,” and it is generally considered to be his blueprint.
Industrialized Europe emerged from World War I shattered and broken, not just physically, but psychologically, emotionally, and most especially, spiritually. The new Europe was exhausted and scarred, increasingly frustrated with the old gods but far from enamored with the new ones. It rejected Marx openly, just as it rejected every teleological ethos.
As a result, nihilism replaced faith. Pessimism replaced hope. The “Ego” replaced everything else. Marx’s fears were realized, and his antagonist, Max Stirner, was proven prescient in his warnings about the “Ego’s” steadfastness.
In order to get the Marxist program back on track, Lukács—plus Gramsci, plus Adorno, et al.—had to fight back against the ascension of the ego, against the selfish rejection of communism for the satisfaction of the self. Cultural Marxism and its long march through the institutions constituted the plan for that fight.
This Third Epoch lasted only 41 years, however, and ended in 1964, when one of the cultural Marxists’ fellow travelers—Herbert Marcuse—simply conceded defeat. His book, One-Dimensional Man, was a eulogy for Lukácsian and Gramscian cultural Marxism. It was also a primal scream in frustration at the persistence of the ego (and the prescience of Stirner). Most notably, however, it was a blueprint in its own right for advancing the cause and promoting the revolutionary mindset.
Marcuse conceded that the capitalist system was simply too good at providing goods and services that made the masses comfortable and happy. It therefore deprived them of ever knowing or caring about their true oppressed consciousness. Workers had become one-dimensional consumers, distracted from their fate by their egos and the creature comforts of capitalism. As a result, Marcuse determined the left would have to recruit an entirely new revolutionary class to facilitate the revolution. He identified the socially oppressed—minorities, women, sexual subgroups, etc.—as this new revolutionary class.
Marcuse’s focus on identity evolved, over time, into political correctness and then into “woke,” which is our present-day plague.
This Fourth Epoch—the Marcusian Epoch—has been longer and more thoroughly culturally dominating than previous epochs, but as Eric Kaufmann and others have noted, it too is fatally flawed and bound to collapse. Its end may have been delayed, but it too was/is inevitable.
The real question at this point is what will come next. What will characterize the Fifth Epoch in the history of the left? I think a Fifth Epoch is unavoidable, largely because the moral and social foundations of Western Civilization, which were destroyed by the Enlightenment, remain in tatters. Indeed, they grow more and more tattered by the day. Marxism, per se, is no longer a real threat to the West, but then, it hasn’t been one in more than a century. The “left,” however, will adapt again, and it will morph to fill the voids left in Western Civilization by the Enlightenment.
In other words, celebrate the death of woke but brace yourself for whatever comes after it.
Some sly kind of anarchy will come along in the wake of Woke, and it shall attempt to wreak even more mischief.
These things are only partially organic, in that a certain kind of structure has to be set up for the framework of the mischief, but once activated, takes on a life of its own.
The trick here is to identify the direction this mischief is supposed to take, then subvert it for OUR purposes. Turn it back on its makers.
OK, think tanks. Get to work.
Just another thing Communists like Mao and the American left have in common - the exploitation of ‘students’ for political purposes.
Ameriphobia is next. Ameriphobia is the blind unreasoned hatred of America, her people, her culture, her laws, and way of life. Ameriphobia is the end stage of Trump Derangement Syndrome. It is where the left goes when calling us Nazis is no longer satisfying. They become like drug addicts in that they need more and more hate to feel alive. It WILL cause them to start physically attacking us so make an informed decision about where and when you wear your MAGA gear. Be circumspect at all times.
Woke-ism can be replaced with Truth-ism, abandoning the Fakeworld dishonesty about almost every issue and instead take a realistic view of how America became great and let it flourish instead of constant, mean, dystopian efforts to control everyone.
The Father of Lies - Woke’s founding source.
😂👍 Thanks mewzilla
Democrats/liberals/libertarians/RINOs are all slaves to evil. And Evil never sleeps. And he's been at corrupting humans ever since Genesis 3.
1 Peter 5:8: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
I predict The Khmer Rouge.
It’s all about tearing down society, in order to implement Year Zero.
Woke II, the Sequel.
Soukup has written an article on the left which never mentions China or the Soviet Union??
He dates the beginning of leftism AFTER the rise of Napolean?
Is he distinguishing “cultural leftism” from... what?
From political leftism?
uhhh....
Please correct me but there was “cultural leftism” in France that led to the Revolution.
So in Russia.
So in China.
More’s “Utopia” was published in 1516.
What am I missing?
Thanks, I enjoyed the article!
Woke isn’t dead. Woke isn’t even wounded.
College educated white females vote overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party.
I think that whatever will follow wokeism will be a function of how AI affects our lives. From what I’ve seen thus far and the potential for erasing most human jobs, we’re looking at man versus machine, the ultimate “class” war. We’ll all be united against the tyranny of the machines and their creators. One can only hope that AI will be used for the good of humanity, but history doesn’t support that potential outcome.
It isn’t dead, it just finally being resisted.
Overwhelming the system through Cloward-Piven isn’t dead and that will continue. So will civil unrest.
celebrate the death of woke but brace yourself for whatever comes after it.
One of the reasons that true prophets get it right is because they are working off of experience, simply and sincerely describing the reality on the ground, not even intending to be a prophet. IOW, there's no prophet motive, so what "seeker" is really paying attention to the cleanest dirty shirt...
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
The [primordial] clothing of light is based on the homophones "or" -- skin/leather [עור] -- spelled with the letter ayin ("eye"), and "ohr" -- light [אור] -- which is spelled with an alef.
The blind person sees the inner light, the light of the soul and the redemption. There is a deep connection between the Hebrew words for ‘light’ (or -אור) and ‘blind’ (iver – עור ). The blind person sees the light beneath the surface. It is no coincidence that in Aramaic, a blind person is called ‘sagi nahor,’ which means ‘much light.’
skin, hide, leather
wake up!
he was blinded
What if you could see with your ears?
Scientists at Hebrew University have developed a way to help blind people “see,” using a device that converts images into sound waves. With training, people who are blind from birth can learn to recognize faces, describe objects, and identify letters and words. This process of converting sensory information from one system to another is called “sensory substitution.”
>>>
When describing the giving of the Torah, the verse states: “All the people saw the voices and the torches, the sound of the shofar, and the smoking mountain.” How do you see “the voices, the torches, and the sound of the shofar”? In his commentary, Rashi explains, “They saw what is usually heard.”
>>>
"And it took me back to somethin', that I'd lost somehow somewhere along the way." ~ Kris Kristofferson
Woke may be dying, but history warns: every collapse of the left births a new epoch—often more radical than the last.
"Join the Navi -- See the World"
June 6th:
Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day (after the military term), it is the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France, and the rest of Western Europe, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.
The Hebrew equivalent for the "D" Day military code [for a hidden day] uses the letter ayin (the letter ע means "eye"). That's because the code is short for the word "et" [עת], time. Like saying it's the concealed "70th" day --
"'יום ה-ע"
Thus it's an "ayin/eye" day instead of a "D" Day. The Normandy invasion of June 6th, 1944 is *the* D-Day that the entire world knows off-hand.
The Point here is that
In Israel, "Blind Day" [בליינד דיי -- no English Wiki page for it, but there's the name of the day, a transliteration of English "Blind Day"]
is June 6th, because 6/6 (m) is the metric equivalent of 20/20 (ft).
slogan -- "Close your eyes -- and see!"
Good post and I agree. “Ameriphobia” will certainly be part of it.
They would load us on cattle cars if they could and exterminate us. That is not an exaggeration.
The only place they have left to go is either Khmer Rouge, Red Guards, or Ingsoc.
“College educated white females vote overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party.”
If you’re a conservative college-enrolled female (like my daughter) at many universities, voicing your allegiance to conservative values (or worse, Trump) will lose you all your friends. No matter how much they value you. The young leftist women are beyond intolerant.
“I think that whatever will follow wokeism will be a function of how AI affects our lives. ... One can only hope that AI will be used for the good of humanity, but history doesn’t support that potential outcome.”
I don’t know if it’s actual AI, coding of algorithms, or what, but with this recent “86” thing technology re-wrote / revised history within a few hours.
It meant ending / killing something for decades. Then after Comey’s second post, internet queries returned results pretty much ignoring the killing part, except sometimes a small mention at the end with a tone of pooh-poohing that definition.
They haven’t (yet) re-defined “deep six”, which is much like “86”.
“Verb
“(idiomatic) To discard, get rid of, or cancel; to completely put an end to something.”
“Noun
the deep six
“Ejection, discardment or destruction.
The grave or death; also, the (notional) place where something is discarded.”
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