The ideology of "wokeism" is positioned as a departure from traditional liberalism. While classical liberalism champions color-blind equality and individual merit, wokeism accentuates group differences based on race and gender. This focus on group identity is seen as a divisive tool used to expand state control over people's lives.

Narrative framing is a universal tool of persuasion used by all actors, including those you agree with. Recognizing that everyone, from news outlets to favored politicians, is making specific word choices to lock you into their perspective is crucial for maintaining a grasp on reality.

A fringe element of the political right is beginning to mirror the 'woke left' by adopting similar tactics. This includes a focus on identity-based victimhood narratives and a preference for destroying and deplatforming opponents rather than engaging them in genuine debate.

John McWhorter argues that while the "peak woke" moment in general society has passed, the ideology has become so deeply rooted in academia and the arts that it's likely "ruined for the duration." The core tenets are passed down through graduate programs and hiring practices, making them difficult to dislodge.

The concept of "mal-information"—factually true information deemed harmful—is a tool for narrative control. It allows powerful groups to suppress uncomfortable truths by framing them as a threat, effectively making certain realities undiscussable even when they are verifiably true.

John McWhorter argues that seemingly separate cultural flashpoints—from the George Floyd protests to campus support for Hamas—are driven by the same core ideology. This worldview prioritizes battling perceived power imbalances, especially related to 'whiteness,' above all other considerations, including reason or facts.

We operate with two belief modes. For our immediate lives, we demand factual truth. For abstract domains like mythology or ideology, we prioritize morally uplifting or dramatically compelling narratives over facts. The Enlightenment was a push to apply the first mode to everything.

The AI debate is becoming polarized as influencers and politicians present subjective beliefs with high conviction, treating them as non-negotiable facts. This hinders balanced, logic-based conversations. It is crucial to distinguish testable beliefs from objective truths to foster productive dialogue about AI's future.

The notion that identitarianism is exclusive to the left ("woke") is outdated. A powerful, mirrored version has solidified on the right ("Groypers"), indicating that identity-based politics has become a central, and polarizing, framework across the entire political spectrum.