If Everyone Is Woke, Then No One is Awake

It’s unquestionably a good thing that the world is waking up to the idea of social justice. For too long, marginalized groups have been precisely that—marginalized. Oppression, racism, unequal access to opportunity have been too common for too long in America and the world. People have been way too insensitive to the trauma that all sorts of people have experienced in life, and indifferent to how those traumas are exacerbated and triggered by the way we do things. Of course, we should be awake and aware of this. Kindness and fairness and human dignity are core Stoic virtues, so there would be no objection from Marcus Aurelius or Seneca to the idea of social justice. Certainly Epictetus, a former slave, would have fit right into our modern discussion about privilege and equality. But it’s also true that the Stoics would have looked quite warily on the increasing radicalization of the so-called “woke” activists. Nor would they have been surprised at how quickly its self-righteousness has created alarming abuses of power (and in some cases, been guilty of the same injustices they claim to fight against.) Administrators and activists at Oberlin College in Ohio egged on a mob that wrongly accused a small-town bakery of racism and tried to run them out of business. The #MeToo movement, which has brought all sorts of terrible sexual predators to justice, also—it seems—prematurely deprived Al Franken of due process and cost themselves an ally in the Senate. There have been countless other examples, from the Covington Kids and the Yale Halloween costume controversy to using physical force to deprive people of their right to free speech and a surprising level of tolerance for anti-semitism, where jumping to conclusions and moral certainty have caused embarassing lapses in judgement. These movements are supposed to be about truth and justice and fairness. But like any movement, when they become a mob, or become blind to nuance or empathy, they can do real harm to people. When everyone is woke, then no one is awake. The Stoics believed in virtue, not virtue signaling. They were not naive. They knew the world was full of injustices and evil and believed that it was not just important, but every person’s duty to fight against it. At the same time, Marcus Aurelius reminded himself that most people who did wrong were not doing it on purpose. He spoke of the importance of mercy, of forgiveness and understanding. Most of all, he spoke about practicing what he preached. He couldn’t control other people, but he could control whether he did wrong himself. And this is an important lesson for everyone out there fighting for the important cause of social justice. Radicalization is dangerous, whether it’s on the right or left. Anger is the problem, not the solution. Righteousness can easily become self-righteousness. We must be careful. We must be kind. We must be fair. We must always act with the virtues that the Stoics believed balanced out the pursuit of justice: courage, moderation, and wisdom. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. 📢 Share | ⚙️ Manage Subscription

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com.

• 0:28Ryan Holiday?

  If everyone is woke, then no one is awake. It's unquestionably a good thing that the world is waking up to the idea of social justice. For too long, marginalized groups have been precisely that: marginalized. Oppression, racism, unequal access to opportunity have been too common for too long in America and the world. People have been way too insensitive to the trauma that all sorts of people have experienced in life, and indifferent to how those traumas are exacerbated and triggered by the way we do things. Of course, we should be aware and awake to this. Kindness and fairness and human dignity are core Stoic virtues, so there would be no objection from Marcus Aurelius or Seneca to the idea of

• 1:11Ryan Holiday?

  social justice. Certainly Epictetus, a former slave, would have fit right into our modern discussion about privilege and equality. But it's also true that the Stoics would have looked quite warily on the increasing radicalization of the so-called woke activists, nor would they have been surprised at how quickly its self-righteousness has created alarming abuses of power, and in some cases, been guilty of the same injustices they claim to fight against. Administrators and activists at Oberlin College in Ohio egged on a mob that wrongly accused a small-town bakery of racism and tried to run them out of business. The Me Too movement, which has brought all sorts of terrible sexual predators to justice, also,

• 1:54Ryan Holiday?

  it seems, prematurely deprived Al Franken of due process and cost themselves an ally in the Senate. There have been countless other examples from the Covington Kids and the Yale Halloween costume controversy to using physical force to deprive people of their right to free speech and a surprising level of tolerance for antisemitism, where jumping to the wrong conclusions and moral certainty have caused embarrassing lapses of judgment. These movements are supposed to be about truth and justice and fairness, but like any movement, when they become a mob or blind to nuance or empathy, can do real harm to people. When everyone is woke, then no one is awake. The Stoics believed in virtue, not virtue signaling. They were not naive.

• 2:39Ryan Holiday?

  They knew the world was full of injustices and evil and believed that it was not just important, but every person's duty to fight against it. At the same time, Marcus Aurelius reminded himself that most people who did wrong were not doing it on purpose. He spoke of the importance of mercy, of forgiveness and understanding. Most of all, he spoke about practicing what he preached. He couldn't control other people, but he can control whether he did wrong himself. And this is an important lesson for everyone out there fighting for the important cause of social justice. Radicalization is dangerous, whether it's on the right or the left. Anger is the problem, not the solution. Righteousness can easily become self-righteousness.

• 3:21Ryan Holiday?

  We must be careful, we must be kind, we must be fair, and we must always act with the virtues that the Stoics believed balanced out the pursuit of justice, courage, moderation, and wisdom. Thanks for listening to the Daily Stoic Podcast. If you could leave us a review in iTunes, it helps a great deal. And of course, if you know anyone who would benefit from these messages, please spread the word. Thanks.