Book preview: 'The Wars You Lost While You Were Sleeping: How Woke Ideology Invaded Your World Without Firing a Shot,' by Karina Mariani

While the world went on with its daily routine, an ideological revolution advanced without resistance. Under false slogans of inclusion, diversity and tolerance, an offensive unfolded that reconfigured common sense, education, justice, culture and human relations.

In "The Wars You Lost While You Were Sleeping: How the Woke Ideology Invaded Your World Without Firing a Shot" (original title in Spanish: "Las Guerras que Perdiste Mientras Dormías, Cómo la Ideología Woke Invadió Tu Mundo Win Disparar un Solo Tiro"), Karina Mariani exposes how the woke ideology has transformed our societies, colonizing institutions, silencing dissent and confronting the population in an unprecedented cultural battle.

With sharp and informed analysis, this book not only describes the tactics of this silent war, but also challenges the reader to make up for lost ground. The book, which is distributed in Spanish both digitally and in print via Amazon starting Feb. 8, it has two deluxe forewords. Argentine journalist Dardo Gasparré says in one of them:

"If one were to try to find a symbol and a common denominator of the characteristics of the so-called Agenda 2030, now like so many of its objectives and prophecies extended to 2045, one would arrive without hesitation at the epic of the so-called perceptions of gender, sex, age, race, even species, which is the secret and silent thread that unites and defines them. Karina Mariani studies the phenomenon, describes and analyzes it carefully in this book that has deserved a careful previous research, which the author has been able to share with the reader without overwhelming it with bibliographical quotations, using examples and stories that seem at times fictional, although they reflect the strictest and most irrefutable reality.

"Mariani takes care to clarify that she does not believe in conspiracy theories. Rather, she should have said that she makes an effort not to believe them. The systemic cancellation of universities and education at all levels, its deterioration and distortion, the loss of academic respect that has been generated by the preaching and blind compliance of the houses of studies necessarily contributes to the destruction of education, the very symbol of contemporary civilization in all its meanings.

The other prologue is from Spanish essayist and journalist Javier Benegas, who states:

"It is usual to fall into error attracted by the part of truth in which that error is sometimes enclosed. In our western world, such truth would be that in our past there are dark shadows. And the error is to ignore that the light broke through at the moment when the culture of the West crystallized, as Karina Mariani writes, in the most equanimous, tolerant, thriving, rich, supportive and free of the globe. However, supported by the inevitable imperfection, politics did not stop at this achievement: it overreached itself. It elevated the logical imperfections of any civilization to the category of structural problems. And armed to the teeth with social engineering, it ended up penetrating our private sphere."

"Step by step, incrementally, politicians, technocrats and experts took over every private space, every intimate corner, becoming a monster that, like the hydra, has an infinite number of heads, one for each open front, for each space taken by assault. To save the West she loves, Karina Mariani confronts these heads one by one. With devotion, but also with extraordinary thoroughness, she cuts them off at their roots with the edge of a fine intelligence."

Here is a preview of this must-read. This is an excerpt from the chapter, "Lethal Fusion: Sexual Identitarianism and Gender Perspective."

Lethal fusion: Sexual identitarianism and gender perspective

The term "culture wars" has become a popular way to describe differing views on how society should be structured, what is considered just or unjust, and the social norms that reflect those ideals. However, woke ideology rejects the concept of justice that underpins Western culture, viewing it as inherently oppressive. Instead, it frames society as a collection of rigid, segregated groups, trapped in a daily struggle marked by resentment.

This resentment, this deep-seated anger, stems from past offenses—some dating back decades or even centuries. Those alive today neither committed nor directly suffered these wrongs, yet Wokism treats them as inherited, passed down conveniently through skin color, birthplace, gender, or religion. It assigns guilt to groups labeled as "oppressors," despite their lack of civic or legal responsibility. As irrational as it may seem, Wokism thrives on this cycle of vengeance, fueled by an unending pursuit of retribution with no room for redemption.

The logic of this ideology dictates that even the slightest doctrinal differences are treated as signs of intolerance and phobia, deserving of punishment. This climate of intransigence has forced people, in order to survive in this dystopia, to deny biology, defy the laws of physics, and even reject what they see with their own eyes—rather than challenge the radical tenets of woke ideology.

This ideology has rapidly expanded its influence into various areas, including environmentalism and climate justice, structural anti-racism, indigenism, anti-capitalism, anti-colonialism, historical reparations, animal rights, and speciesism, among others. However, its most significant success has been in the massive growth of sexual identity movements.

"With the irruption of the woke logic in the field of sexual identity, the biological dimension came to have a marginal, annoying and offensive place."

The rise of sexual identitarianism is particularly evident in movements such as radical feminism, LGBTQIA+ activism, the trans movement, and queer militancy. These groups operate on the premise that everyone possesses a "gender identity" that transcends biological reality, akin to a kind of gendered soul. According to this belief, the concepts of male and female are mere social constructs—a "false binary" that perpetuates structural oppression and must be dismantled. This perspective, known as the "gender perspective," uses sexuality as a foundation for advocating a fundamental reshaping of society.

This ideology separates "gender" from "sex," the latter being dismissed as just another social construct rooted in biology—viewed as a tool of domination. "Gender" is seen as the spiritual dimension of sex, an identity that exists beyond biology—malleable, elective, changeable, and fluid. The gender perspective assumes that issues of sexuality are inexplicably intertwined, through some form of intersectional alchemy, with other woke causes such as environmentalism and climate alarmism, indigenous and ethnic struggles, and anti-colonial demands—in essence, that everything is connected to everything.

In a 1989 article titled "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics," attorney Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced the concept of "intersectionality" to describe the overlapping oppressions of race and gender. Since then, intersectionality has evolved into a framework that blends various forms of oppression, prioritizing one over the other depending on the situation. For Wokism, what matters most is that, in order to achieve genuine social change, an intersectional approach is essential.

The paramount importance of the gender perspective and sexual identitarianism in the woke movement has made them central to its ideology; they are the bedrock upon which its power is built. These ideas represent some of the most potent theoretical foundations of Wokism. However, they are also the most contradictory, becoming a deeply divisive element within the movement itself.

"If biology is considered a 'construct,' all other things might as well be."

Like other dogmas within Wokism, sexual identitarianism does not rely on scientific evidence or data. Instead, it presents a form of reasoning so incoherent and paradoxical that navigating it demands considerable effort.

Before the rise of Wokism, sexual identity as a sociopolitical concept was widely discussed, but always grounded in the principles of biology. Within this discourse, some ideologies argued that sex determined social roles, while others viewed those roles as mere stereotypes. For the latter, this meant that sex was not a defining factor in sexual roles, thoughts, behaviors, or preferences. In other words, across the spectrum, sex was seen as a natural reality that could be a determining factor in people's lives—or not. The distinction was made between sexual nature and sexual behavior, but biology itself was not up for debate.

Reason still prevailed, but the collapse was imminent.

With the rise of woke logic in the realm of sexual identity, the biological dimension was pushed to the margins, becoming seen as bothersome and offensive. In this framework, identity became a matter of choice. The individual not only determines how they perceive themselves sexually but also how they wish to be perceived by society, imposing their self-perception on others.

"The woke ideology exhibits a fierce and spiteful hostility toward those who do not internalize its logic."

This idea gives rise to a myriad of paradoxes. If biology is viewed as a "construct," then all other aspects of reality could be as well. As a result, this perspective rejects the concept of "Truth," yet ironically elevates this rejection into an unchangeable, universal law. The woke movement rejects rational objectivity and epistemic universality in favor of collective victimhood, which erases any notion of individual autonomy. The tension created by this paradox fuels one of the most significant conflicts within woke culture.

For those who embrace this ideology, self-perceptions and its dogmas possess an unprecedented power to shape reality. And if sexual reality can be fabricated, so too can its norms and ethics.

The reach of this logic is limitless and runs counter to any drive for critical thinking. Above all, it fuels frustration and anger in those who believe they can reshape the nature, behavior, and perceptions of others simply by willing it. The woke ideology displays intense hostility toward those who reject its logic. Unable to resolve its contradictions, it chooses to double down, creating new and more divisive conflicts that help it maintain control and continue expanding its influence.

Ironically, those who claim to save the oppressed are encouraged to denounce injustices and privileges, yet always from their own tyrannical, privileged positions.

They are already entrenched there; removing them will require a fight.