Think top 1% benefit most from U.S. inequity? Maybe not.
Musa al-Gharbi (left) and moderator Ryan Enos.Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Nation & World Think top 1% benefit most from U.S. inequity? Maybe not. Book by Musa al-Gharbi argues left-leaning knowledge workers in education, law, media voice support of social justice but have conflicts of interest Christy DeSmith Harvard Staff Writer February 28, 2025 5 min read Who benefits most from inequality in the U.S. today? According to Musa al-Gharbi, it’s the very people most likely to identify as anti-racist, feminist, and LGBTQ+ allies. Al-Gharbi, a Stony Brook University journalism professor, outlined key arguments from his “We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite,” in a campus appearance earlier this month. The 2024 book holds that the 21st century’s left-leaning knowledge workers are sincere in their commitment to social justice. They just don’t acknowledge how those beliefs conflict with others they hold dear. “We also think that our perspectives should count more than the person checking us...