Richard Hanania

The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politics

21:28 min

Politics, Sociology, History

270 pages, 2023

Wokeness has inarguably transformed Western society — but where did it come from? Richard Hanania uncovers the unexpected answer: civil rights law. He demonstrates how anti-discrimination legislation morphed into a system requiring group preferences, speech restrictions, and ever-expanding HR departments. Through analysis of court decisions and bureaucratic interpretations, Hanania reveals that today's identity politics stems from legal mechanics rather than organic cultural shifts. This short presents a practical roadmap for reform through specific changes to civil rights law, offering hope for restoring individual merit and freedom to American institutions.

Richard Hanania

Richard Hanania is a political scientist and writer who founded the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, a research organization studying political polarization and ideology. He has published extensively on topics related to foreign policy, culture wars, and social science methodology, with his work appearing in outlets like The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Prior to his current role, he earned a PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles and was a Research Fellow at Columbia University's Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies.

Chapters

Wokeness stems from civil rights legislation rather than cultural shifts, manifesting through three key mechanisms: attributing disparities to discrimination, restricting speech, and expanding HR bureaucracy. Legal reform could be more effective than ideological arguments.

Go to chapter