Book review of Understanding the Woke Revolution by Pierre Valentin

Pierre Valentin set himself the goal of understanding wokeism before denouncing it, and this is a commendable attitude. He was among the first to situate the phenomenon, to describe it in its various manifestations, to alert public opinion to the fact that it was not a crisis of youthful originality but a kind of groundswell that endangered the basic principles of thought and analysis.

Pierre Valentin's book provides an original perspective on this new representation of the world, and this perspective is seductive. First of all, facts in the introduction, to alert the reader to the deleterious atmosphere that reigns in the academic world in the United States... and this is not recent! Then an excellent definition, which covers all the options of the "woke revolution". A valuable point of semantics too: who invented the term? The etymological fabrications of Policar or Dupuis-Déri are clearly undermined...

From the very first chapter, an original analysis deserves attention: " Woke ideology is nothing but pure negation ," the author tells us (p. 29). And he demonstrates this meticulously and convincingly. The way in which all reflection is eliminated by Wokism, to the point of excluding debate, the way in which this "revolution" is experienced, which only brings us back to square one, are remarkably described. The comparison of the outrageous pronouncements of the woke with those of the pig in Animal Farm (George Orwell), who wants to eliminate man in order to ultimately take his place, is illuminating (pp. 53 ff.). The reversal of values ​​is precisely part of this "revolution," the term taken in its primary sense. " Contradictions ," I had titled an Editorial ^[1] : but this reversal is much stronger…

Going ever further, destroying ever more, the woke revolution devours its own children, like all revolutions: from neo-feminism, women are eliminated in favor of trans “women” (that is to say, men); from Gay Pride , homosexuals are eliminated in favor of trans “men” ( trans-friendly has replaced gay-friendly , in short); from anti-racism, Jews and Asians are eliminated in favor of Black people alone, and so on. The avant-gardes have become retrograde… Citing Kathleen Stock, whose book, * Material Girls *, will soon be published in French, Pierre Valentin reminds us that chemical castration is now offered to young homosexuals who identify as trans (p. 61), whereas gay men had succeeded, in a just struggle, in having conversion therapies outlawed. And it is those who try to protect vulnerable teenagers who are reviled for daring to advocate, precisely, what the wokes call, contrary to the original meaning, conversion therapies.

Pierre Valentin observes and takes notes, and his analyses not only ring true but also appear self-evident once absorbed; the woke revolution has nothing to offer: its sole objective is destruction. " The destruction of the norm proves more important than the defense of the exception, " he tells us on page 52. But then, how can we live in society? Because " we are dealing with a movement, not a community " (p. 92)... Pierre Valentin raises other (good) questions: how is it that this strange ideology strikes and manages to convince minds that are, a priori, normally constituted? But it's very simple: these pleasant followers are simply afraid of losing the "progressive" label to that of "conservative," and they take masochism to the extreme by berating themselves for belonging to the white supremacist majority, which is necessarily supremacist, and by proclaiming in unison that, whatever they do, they will always be racist. ^[2] He cites on page 105 the case of a young woman who supposedly became homosexual and then transgender " in response to a feeling of shame at being white ": how can one be sure of being on the right side, that of the oppressed?

Another aspect of woke ideology is very well presented on pages 111 ff.: the extreme victimization of young people (and not so young people) who adhere to this movement. They are easily offended and traumatized; they need safe spaces in universities where they will only find their own kind: no contradiction (since there is no debate), and ultimately, no one of a different race, gender, or socioeconomic status. Safely encased in their cocoon, how will these young people develop? What will they do in their professional lives (if they ever become adults) if they have to work in an open-plan office ? The world has never been so safe, and they tremble at the thought of stepping outside and encountering someone who isn't like them… The era of hippies roaming the world with a flower in their hat and an open mind, ready for any adventure, is over! Farewell to the peace and love of those odious boomers ! Everything is now a cause for whining.

The consequence of this culture of victimhood is the institutionalization of denunciation : “Mommy, boo-boo!” I would say. In these universities, “Mommy” refers to the Administration and all the overprotective teams it puts in place, often within the framework of DEI ( diversity, equity, inclusion ), which control the teaching. The content of the teaching, to satisfy the students’ narcissism, must resemble them … These students demand that white poets no longer be taught, not to study more diverse poets (they deserve it), but simply “so as not to make the students suffer” (p. 113). The common enemy is the white man! Hilarious moments abound in Pierre Valentin's book: how can one not laugh at the mention of that unforgettable sequence (p. 133), which we all know, where a bald, bearded man declares that he is not a man… Poor Schneidermann completely lost his composure ^[3] How can one remain "progressive" in such a context?, he must have wondered. As for Pierre Valentin, he asks himself on p. 140: "What's stopping Schneidermann from bursting out laughing?"

The historical evolution of this so-called "progressivism" is revealing: in 2013, the author reminds us, "blind" auditions were required to promote "parity" (this word still existed ten years ago!); in 2020, on the contrary, they must be banned to diversify orchestras. Where is the quality? Where is the competence? Where is the merit? All the "left-wing" thinkers who used to publish in Le Monde are now found in Le Figaro , and if the Republicans in the United States manage to elect their candidate at the end of the year, it will be because of the Democratic Party's submersion by "wokism"... despite Obama's warnings as early as 2019! Among the points that particularly interested me in Pierre Valentin's book – and which are not shared by all those who write about the phenomenon – is the idea that what the Americans call French Theory does not alone carry the premises of wokism; I am convinced of the correctness of this statement and I have always been surprised to see Foucault systematically accused… “The Foucauldians [have] gone mad,” says Pierre Valentin, and I can only support this formulation – specifying that Foucault was not.

Another point to emphasize, though I'm not personally convinced, is Valentin's pessimism, which he expresses right from the introduction (p. 13) by noting that " the 'reassuring' virologists have always been wrong in the face of this epidemic of moral panics" and by stressing that the phenomenon has only spread geographically and in terms of intensity. For my part, I believe the world has absorbed many other fads and recovered from them—we are not from the same generation. I think that the young activists who stir up trouble in their little bubbles under the complacent gaze of nostalgic adults, just as the old Stalinists swooned over the pimply Maoist-Spontexes in June '68 because they believed the "great day" had finally arrived, will disappear without leaving any more trace than the Maoist-Spontexes themselves… Sylvie Perez detailed in her book ^[4] the positive signs that allow us to maintain confidence, common sense being, ultimately, the most widely shared thing in the world… And these signs are becoming increasingly apparent. American universities are now, one by one, abandoning the mantra of diversity, equity, inclusion , much to the dismay of the politically correct. Because woke ideology, as Valentin reminds us, is, by definition, the right way of thinking.

The book is teeming with accurate observations and pleasing turns of phrase, which I'll let you discover for yourselves. But I do have one small criticism of the author: starting on page 11, and several times thereafter, we find the expression "their skin color." I fear that this " skin-color " category , which is now ubiquitous, is essentializing: it confines a group of people to a kind of univocal category; I prefer "the color of their skin," which evokes a contingent characteristic that is quite minor from a genomic point of view and recent from an evolutionary one, and whose only reference point is external visibility.

Throughout his analyses, Pierre Valentin provides a concise yet crucial bibliography: it includes books by Lasch, Murray, Manning & Campbell, Haidt & Lukianoff, and especially Pluckrose & Lindsay ^[5] , a work "which brings together ^[6] he tells us, the psychological analyses of Haidt & Lukianoff on the one hand, and the sociological analyses of Manning & Campbell on the other." Essential reading, before or after Pierre Valentin's book!