Cancelled: The Left Way Back from Woke

Right now, someone, somewhere is being cancelled. Off-the-cuff tweets or "harmless" office banter have the potential to wreck lives. The Left condemns the Right and the bigotry of the old elites. The Right complains about brain-dead political correctness. In reality, both sides are colluding in a reactionary politics that is as self-defeating as it is divisive. Can the Left escape this extremism and stay true to the progressive ideals it once professed?

In this provocative book, Umut OEzkirimli reveals how the Left has been sucked into a spiral of toxic hatred and outrage-mongering, retreating from the democratic ideals of freedom and pluralism that it purports to represent. Exploring the similarities between right-wing populism and radical identity politics, he sets out an alternative vision. It is only by focusing on our common humanity and working across differences that the Left will find a constructive and consensual way back from "woke."


Review: "In this forceful intervention, Umut OEzkirimli challenges assumptions and pieties of both Right and Left and - remaining true to the democratic socialist tradition - alerts readers to occasions when a pseudo Left sounds all too much like the reactionary Right."
Craig Calhoun, Arizona State University

"This book will make you think, which is probably what makes it so scary. OEzkirimli's accessible style helps navigate contentious areas that have, increasingly, been seen as too dangerous to debate. Whatever Side you are on in this increasingly vicious culture war, you would benefit from reading this book. I don't agree with all of it, but I am sure as hell glad it made it to the shelves."
Julie Bindel, feminist and writer, author of Feminism for Women

"Umut OEzkirimli takes no hostages in this forensic dissection of the woke Left's dismal collusion in the exclusionary politics and toxic cancel culture of our times. This is the must-read book of a generation."
Jo Phoenix, University of Reading

"Bold and brilliant, taking on both right-wing authoritarian populism and regressive woke Left identity politics, this book represents a watershed in twenty-first century political thought."
Jean Wyllys, Brazilian writer, journalist, and human rights activist

"A thoughtful and courageous book that should provoke a much-needed debate"