The rule of law and the American tradition of government depend on the surrounding civic culture, and that culture is one of capacious liberalism—liberalism in a philosophical, not a partisan sense. It includes a structure built on individual rights (as opposed to group interests), personal responsibility, and freedom of speech.
So, what are the social movements that threaten this culture today? They go by a variety of names. Wokeism and “the successor ideology” are two. At a high level of generality, their dogma goes like this: Some group has been systematically oppressed not only by the government but by society at large. And that oppression is the sole cause of their disparate plight. Antiracism is an example of the structure of this thinking. Its leading publicist and best-selling author, Ibram X. Kendi, has stated: “Racial discrimination is the sole cause of racial disparities in this country and in the world at large.” All that has gone before is tainted, and society should be completely remade to reflect this essential truth.
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