We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite

3 June 2025
6:15 pm–7:30 pm

2025 UCL Sociology Annual Lecture
We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite
Society has never been more egalitarian—in theory. Prejudice is taboo, and diversity is strongly valued. At the same time, social and economic inequality have exploded. In his first book, We Have Never Been Woke, Musa al-Gharbi argues that these trends are closely related, each tied to the rise of a new elite—the symbolic capitalists. In education, media, nonprofits, and beyond, members of this elite work primarily with words, ideas, images, and data, and are very likely to identify as allies of antiracist, feminist, LGBTQ, and other progressive causes. Their dominant ideology is “wokeness” and, while their commitment to equality is sincere, they actively benefit from and perpetuate the inequalities they decry. Indeed, their egalitarian credentials help them gain more power and status, often at the expense of the marginalized and disadvantaged. Thus, al-Gharbi reveals that only by challenging this elite’s self-serving narratives can we hope to address social and economic inequality effectively.

About Musa al-Gharbi
Musa al-Gharbi is a sociologist and assistant professor in the School of Communication and Journalism at Stony Brook University. His research primarily focuses on the political economy of knowledge production and the social life of scholarly and journalistic outputs. He is a columnist for The Guardian, and his writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and more. al-Gharbi’s first book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, was published by Princeton University Press in October 2024.

Book sales and drinks reception
Copies of We Have Never Been Woke will be available for purchase during the drinks reception that will follow the lecture.