In the United States as in other countries, many people genuinely concerned to right historical wrongs have woven together an ideology often called “the woke left.” I will argue that this ideology is not, in fact, genuinely leftist, as it challenges many of the crucial ideas that have traditionally been central to all leftwing movements. I will argue for a new understanding of ideas of solidarity, justice and progress that have their roots in the much-maligned Enlightenment, and discuss how those ideas might be applicable today.
