Beyond Woke and Anti-Woke

‘This is an excellent, balanced, and scholarly analysis of the usually polarized debate over Social Justice Ideology (SJI). It is broad-ranging theoretically and empirically, but also communicated in a commendably clear and engaging style that will appeal to readers of all persuasions. The authors grip the reader from the first sentence by opening with the high-profile Jo Phoenix case against the Open University. They then dissect the distinctions between social justice ideology, traditional liberalism, and Marxism, before engaging in a clear and thoughtful conceptual analysis of progressive ideologies more generally. This conceptual clarity is accompanied by similarly informed discussions of the potential reasons for the rise of SJI – economic disruption, demographic change, the growth of socio-cultural professions, and the role of social media and corporate wokeness. Public opinion, and even the psychological profiles of SJI supporters and opponents, are examined using large datasets and newly collected surveys in the US and UK. These rigorous quantitative analyses are visualised appealingly in the main text, with appendices for the hardcore aficionado. The book also considers the future prospects of SJI in the face of Trumpian pushback and popular disapproval.

In sum, this book is essential reading for commentators and consumers on both sides of the many debates engendered by the rise of woke and anti-woke movements.’ Geoffrey Evans, University of Oxford

Thomas Prosser is Professor of European Political Economy at Cardiff University.

Edmund G.C. King is Senior Lecturer in English at the Open University.