What Comes After 'Woke'?

Has wokeness run its course?

Has wokeness ended? And if so, what comes next? These are the questions we'll be exploring at our May 29th event in London. Tickets here.

For years, wokeness dominated Britain's major institutions, including the BBC, the NHS, universities, and corporate boardrooms. It profoundly reshaped public conversations around race, identity, gender, and history.

"Woke" describes a rigid, often performative ideology that aggressively polices language, culture, and institutions in the name of social justice, frequently prioritising group identity over individual merit and open debate.

At first, opposition came mainly from the political right, which viewed it as an overreach that threatened traditional values and free speech. But now, even those who once championed the movement seem worn out. Today, across the political spectrum, a new and pressing question is taking shape: has wokeness run its course, and if so, what will come in its place?

The word itself was initially intended to signal vigilance against injustice. At its best, some might argue that wokeness opened up necessary conversations, whether or not its critics agreed. It shone a brighter light on structural inequalities and the everyday indignities that ethnic minorities were said to endure. It pushed for greater appreciation of diverse histories and for broader representation in media and politics, encouraging more voices to participate in public life.

Yet alongside this, we cannot deny the absurdities introduced in its name. Newspeak and language policing took hold, infiltrating organisations and even everyday interactions. In fighting discrimination, new forms of discrimination emerged. We witnessed the rise of censorship, the return of segregation, the rewriting of history, and an insistence on safe spaces that sometimes bordered on the extreme.

Wokeness also gave rise to a new economy. A "woke economy" of new jobs, prestigious titles, and a new elite emerged. Virtually every university, major company, and public body now employs people to manage “equity” or “inclusion” policies, with the public sector alone spending millions annually on such initiatives.

Many became household names, building lucrative careers around race discourse. Notably, these figures often came from similar perspectives, and dissenting views were rarely championed on mainstream networks. Corporate virtue-signalling became commonplace, as brands eagerly adopted woke ideologies, prioritising optics over meaningful change.

It is no wonder there is widespread fatigue. Every year, new taboos and new sins are invented. Yesterday’s victim can become today’s oppressor overnight. Rather than uniting the “oppressed” against dominant structures, wokeness increasingly divided people into ever-smaller, competing identity groups, making any real coalition either impossible or superficial.

Against this backdrop, it is worth asking: is the era of wokeness, which has shaped institutions, culture, and public discourse, finally coming to a close? If so, what ideas, movements, or values will rise to take its place? What will the next chapter of our political and cultural life look like?

Join us on Thursday, May 29th at the Union Club in London as we tackle these questions.

At this event, we will examine the state of contemporary politics through the lens of Musa al-Gharbi’s new book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite. Al-Gharbi will discuss his work in conversation with Ralph Leonard, a writer for UnHerd known for his critiques of identity-driven politics on the modern left. The discussion will be chaired by Helen Lewis, journalist and staff writer at The Atlantic.

Join us!

Tickets are available on our website. Secure your spot today.

After the discussion, all attendees are welcome to join us from 8:30pm onwards for informal drinks and conversation.

---

---

Prefer to make a one-time contribution? Just hit the Donate button below.