How a new “woke” elite uses the language of social justice to gain more power and status—without helping the marginalized and disadvantagedSociety has never been more egalitarian—in theory. Prejudice is taboo, and diversity is strongly valued. At the same time, social and economic inequality have exploded. In education, media, nonprofits, and beyond, members of this elite work primarily with words, ideas, images, and data, and are very likely to identify as allies of antiracist, feminist, LGBTQ, and other progressive causes. Their dominant ideology is “wokeness” and, while their commitment to equality is sincere, they actively benefit from and perpetuate the inequalities they decry. Al-Gharbi’s point is not to accuse symbolic capitalists of hypocrisy or cynicism. In this important and timely book, Musa al-Gharbi describes the rise of the ‘symbolic capitalists,’ and how an ideology has evolved to cement their power and restrict entry from outsiders.