"Trace woke ideology to economic competition, not morality The speaker argues that the explosion of identity-politics language in media after 2013 was not primarily a moral movement but a competitive strategy by a shrinking industry: the New York Times "made an editorial decision post-2013 to basically go woke" because it "boosted traffic" after internet disruption gutted advertising revenue. He frames wokeness as "the Democrat weapon against Republicans" — a way to claim moral authority in order to justify redistribution toward their coalition. Recognizing this economic root helps anyone evaluate ideological campaigns: ask who materially benefits before assuming the rhetoric is purely principled. Source: Balaji Srinivasan, Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu, Unknown Episode"