Piers Morgan: is woke really dead?

Donald Trump’s early 2025 executive actions—more than 200 orders that rolled back DEI programs and reaffirmed a binary view of gender—reignited a global debate: had “woke” finally been sidelined? That moment, combined with high-profile court rulings and a spate of cultural pushbacks, set the stage for a wave of confident declarations that identity-driven politics had run its course.

Into that charged atmosphere comes Piers Morgan’s latest volume, Woke is Dead: How Common Sense Triumphed in an Age of Total Madness. The book is loud, unapologetic and very much in Morgan’s signature tabloid voice: part cultural manifesto, part personal broadside. It’s a convenient snapshot of a wider cultural argument—one that claims victory while leaving several battlegrounds untouched.

Piers Morgan’s bold claim and the cultural moment

Morgan treats 2025 as a turning point. He credits the re-election of Donald Trump and a public backlash against aspects of trans activism and corporate DEI campaigns as evidence that the tide has shifted. High-visibility examples—advertising decisions, universities under fire, and court rulings narrowing statutory definitions—are deployed as proof the once-dominant “woke” agenda is in retreat.

His tone is theatrical and unmistakable: he insists that a wave of “common sense” has arrived, sweeping away a decade of what he calls excessive moral policing. That rhetorical flourish helps the book read like a victory speech, even as the scenes he describes often tell a more complicated story.

Where Morgan’s critique lands: the authoritarian drift of identity politics

From well-intentioned to coercive

Morgan’s most persuasive argument is not that progressive concerns were always wrong, but that several movements morphed from corrective efforts into rigid, punitive ideologies. He argues convincingly that:

• Concerns about sexism and racism were initially legitimate but sometimes evolved into uncompromising purity tests.
• Certain activists and institutional actors employed shaming, public denunciation and professional pressure to enforce conformity.
• The language of virtue became weaponized, turning empathy into a social stick rather than a bridge.

This is the book’s central worry: that a sense of moral superiority can justify coercion and ostracism. Morgan frames this as the core failing of what he labels “woke” culture—an ideology that, when fused with institutional power, becomes less reformist and more despotic.

Examples Morgan highlights: media, corporations, and public life

Throughout the book, Morgan points to concrete cultural moments to illustrate his thesis. He catalogues:

• Corporate pullbacks from virtue-signaling ad campaigns and the quiet dismantling of some DEI initiatives.
• Public controversies around access to women’s spaces and the shifting language used in court and policy debates.
• Media spectacles in which figures are publicly pilloried for dissenting views.

These vignettes fuel Morgan’s narrative of a backlash: brands recalibrating messaging, some politicians adopting tougher stances on gender policy, and a broader public exhaustion with moral grandstanding.

Where the argument weakens: institutions that still harbor woke ideas

Even as Morgan enumerates failures of the movement, his claim that “woke is dead” underestimates how entrenched certain ideas remain—especially in education and cultural institutions.

• Universities, the original incubators for many identity-focused debates, still struggle with free-speech boundaries. Faculty and students who question prevailing orthodoxies face professional and social risks.
• DEI programs and curriculum “decolonization” efforts continue in many academic departments and administrative offices, even if their outward visibility has dipped.
• Newer frameworks—such as the mainstreaming of neurodiversity and a burgeoning, often subjective mental-health discourse—extend the same logic of identity-based claims into fresh territory.

Structural change is slower than headline victories: policies and institutional incentives that fuel identity politics remain active and resilient. Morgan’s book scratches at the surface but stops short of dismantling the deeper mechanisms that sustain the culture he critiques.

Morgan’s style: barroom bellowing with occasional clarity

The book reads like a series of punchy monologues—sometimes entertaining, sometimes grating. Morgan leans on colorful metaphors, tabloid one-liners and a personal brand of outrage that courts both attention and controversy. That style makes the book accessible to readers who prefer plain-speaking cultural commentary, but it also flattens complexity.

Still, Morgan’s bluntness serves a purpose: it sharpens his denunciation of cancel culture and ideological policing and makes his warnings about the dangers of moral absolutism hard to ignore. He also offers practical advice aimed at younger readers on how to withstand groupthink and express independent views.

One practical takeaway he presses: resist the temptation to silence your own convictions; recovering independent judgment is the first step toward change. That kind of counsel, presented in a self-help appendix, is one of the more unexpectedly useful parts of the book.

What the book adds to the conversation—and what it misses

Woke is Dead functions well as a cultural polemic: it compiles contemporary flashpoints, channels public frustration and pushes back against a set of illiberal practices tied to identity politics. For readers who already sympathize with Morgan’s outlook, the book offers confirmation and catharsis.

But for those looking for a convincing case that the movement is finished, the evidence is less definitive. Institutional norms, academic incentives and newly emerging identity frameworks show that the debate is still evolving rather than concluded. Morgan’s narrative captures the intensity of the moment but doesn’t fully account for why the ideology has proved so durable.

Book details and reviewer information

Woke is Dead: How Common Sense Triumphed in an Age of Total Madness is written by Piers Morgan and published by HarperCollins. The book blends cultural criticism, personal anecdotes and a combative style aimed at a wide readership.

Patrick West is a columnist for spiked. His most recent book, Get Over Yourself: Nietzsche For Our Times, is published by Societas.

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Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson is a dedicated columnist focusing on political and social debates. With twelve years in editorial writing, he provides nuanced, well‑argued perspectives. His commentaries invite you to form your own views and engage in critical issues.