“Woke 1.0” Is Declared Over as 2 Social-Justice Movements Are Recast as Overreach
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 18
“Woke 1.0” Is Declared Over as 2 Social-Justice Movements Are Recast as Overreach
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 18
Summary
“Woke 1.0” is being pronounced finished, with the backlash framing the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter era as one of excess, performative gestures and punitive social policing.
Nesrine Malik argues that verdict confuses low-stakes symbolism—such as black squares and kente-cloth kneeling—with the underlying aims of tackling racism, sexism, harassment and exclusion from institutions.
She says the excesses reflected weakness rather than dominance: a left shut out of executive power pushed its energy into culture, while representation politics often substituted appearances for material change.
Malik rejects claims that “wokeness” caused the current rightward turn, arguing social pressure is not equivalent to state power now used against universities, protest and public institutions in the US and UK.
Her broader conclusion is that the movements lost to backlash, and any “Woke 2.0” would need long-term policy organization rooted in material concerns without discarding the original equality goals.