Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Get access to The Backroom (Almost 90+ exclusive episodes) on Patreon: patreon.com/OneDime
In this episode of 1Dime Radio, I am joined by American sociologist Musa al-Gharbi to discuss his book "We Have Never Been Woke" which is by far the most scholarly work on the topic of “wokeness.” Al‑Gharbi provides a materialist theory of the economics and social dynamics that drive what we call "wokeism" and the great disconnect between what he calls “symbolic capitalists” (the section of the Professional Managerial Class within discourse/symbol generating industries like Media, Academia, Art, and Entertainment) and the rest of society. Al-Gharbi's book provides rigorous empirical research on social attitudes, class structures, and identifies four patterns that he calls "the great awokenings" which are driven by "elite overproduction" and liberals and leftists appear the same to so many people.
In The Backroom (on Patreon), Musa and I continue the conversation by connecting Musa’s materialist socio-economic theory of Wokeness and Symbolic Capitalists to Tony’s Genealogy of Wokeism essay.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Changing Minds vs Material Conditions (The Backroom Preview)
00:05:34 An Empirical Theory of Wokeism
00:14:41 The Symbolic Capitalists
00:23:55 Top 20% not just the 1%
00:33:45 Elite Overproduction and Intra-Elite competition
00:53:58 Is “woke” dead? Trump era shifts
00:59:14 The Four Great Awokenings, mapped
01:19:31 Policing, crime, and what Black voters actually want
01:24:10 Do Woke People believe in Woke ideas? Does Sincerity Matter?
01:28:19 What about the bottom 80%?
01:33:19 Diversity and Totemic Capital
01:36:49 Backroom teaser: Tony’s Genealogy of Wokeism Essay
GUEST:
Musa Al-Gharbi (American sociologist), author of *We Have Never Been Woke*
• Book announcement and links: musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/we-have-never-been-woke-available-now
• Musa’s website: musaalgharbi.com
Musa’s Substack: musaalgharbi.substack.com
FOLLOW 1Dime:
• Substack (Articles and Essays): substack.com/@tonyof1dime
• X/Twitter: https://x.com/1DimeOfficial
• Instagram: instagram.com/tonyof1dime
• Check out my main channel videos: youtube.com/@1Dimee
Leave a like, drop a comment, and give the show a 5-star rating on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to this.
Get access to The Backroom (Almost 90+ exclusive episodes) on Patreon: patreon.com/OneDime
In this episode of 1Dime Radio, I am joined by American sociologist Musa al-Gharbi to discuss his book "We Have Never Been Woke" which is by far the most scholarly work on the topic of “wokeness.” Al‑Gharbi provides a materialist theory of the economics and social dynamics that drive what we call "wokeism" and the great disconnect between what he calls “symbolic capitalists” (the section of the Professional Managerial Class within discourse/symbol generating industries like Media, Academia, Art, and Entertainment) and the rest of society. Al-Gharbi's book provides rigorous empirical research on social attitudes, class structures, and identifies four patterns that he calls "the great awokenings" which are driven by "elite overproduction" and liberals and leftists appear the same to so many people.
In The Backroom (on Patreon), Musa and I continue the conversation by connecting Musa’s materialist socio-economic theory of Wokeness and Symbolic Capitalists to Tony’s Genealogy of Wokeism essay.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Changing Minds vs Material Conditions (The Backroom Preview)
00:05:34 An Empirical Theory of Wokeism
00:14:41 The Symbolic Capitalists
00:23:55 Top 20% not just the 1%
00:33:45 Elite Overproduction and Intra-Elite competition
00:53:58 Is “woke” dead? Trump era shifts
00:59:14 The Four Great Awokenings, mapped
01:19:31 Policing, crime, and what Black voters actually want
01:24:10 Do Woke People believe in Woke ideas? Does Sincerity Matter?
01:28:19 What about the bottom 80%?
01:33:19 Diversity and Totemic Capital
01:36:49 Backroom teaser: Tony’s Genealogy of Wokeism Essay
GUEST:
Musa Al-Gharbi (American sociologist), author of *We Have Never Been Woke*
• Book announcement and links: musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/we-have-never-been-woke-available-now
• Musa’s website: musaalgharbi.com
Musa’s Substack: musaalgharbi.substack.com
FOLLOW 1Dime:
• Substack (Articles and Essays): substack.com/@tonyof1dime
• X/Twitter: https://x.com/1DimeOfficial
• Instagram: instagram.com/tonyof1dime
• Check out my main channel videos: youtube.com/@1Dimee
Leave a like, drop a comment, and give the show a 5-star rating on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to this.
