Increased stratification and declining social mobility. A crisis of expertise. The rise of “populist” leaders. Heightened tensions around “identity politics.” Growing affective polarization. Political dealignments and realignments. These are not separate phenomena, they’re fronts in a broader struggle over which communities, stakeholders, lines of work, lifestyles and cultures are valued in contemporary society – and which seem destined for the dust heap of history.

This is the argument of my second book, Those People, now officially under contract with Princeton University Press, slated for publication in late 2026.

I’ve immensely enjoyed working with PUP over the last four years (since We Have Never Been Woke was first put under contract). To my mind, no one does the crossover (academic + trade) book better than Princeton University Press. The whole team is really fantastic – from the editorial side to the marketing side and beyond. Thanks to their efforts, We Have Never Been Woke has been a major critical and commercial success. I’m eager to see what we can cook up together the second time around.

A big thanks to my literary agent, Andrew Stuart, who negotiated the deal. Credit to PUP editors Eric Crahan (who got the dialogue rolling on the second project and shepherded We Have Never Been Woke across the finish line), and Rachael Levay (who will oversee the development and publication of Those People and took the lead in ironing out an agreement with Andrew). Additional thanks to the Open Society Foundations, whose generous support will allow me to take a partial sabbatical over the next year to turn around the manuscript with maximum efficiency.

Completing the Picture

In the original proposal for We Have Never Been Woke, I planned to spend the first half of the book looking at symbolic capitalists, our history and culture, the communities and institutions we congregate in, and the ways “social justice” discourse get bound up with our bids for power, status, resources and opportunities. In the back half of the book, I planned to turn the analytic lens the other way, from the “winners” in the symbolic economy towards those who perceive themselves to be the “losers.” I wrote the book as originally envisioned, but it was far too long for a single text, clocking in at over 200k words. The book was instead split into two volumes.

The first half was adjusted to stand without the back end. It was published in October 2024 as We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite (although I signaled to the phantom content in the conclusion, pp. 308-309). I’m now in the process of reworking the content from the second half of the original manuscript into its own freestanding volume, Those People.

By “those people,” I’m referring to the constellation of elite and normie stakeholders who increasingly define themselves against symbolic capitalists and our culture and values, who are increasingly mistrustful and disconnected from our institutions, and who are increasingly alienated from our preferred political party.

We Have Never Been Woke explored the political economy of the symbolic professions from the interwar period through the present. Those People will explore the causes and consequences of the growing sociological distance between symbolic capitalists and “normies.” It will demonstrate how this very distance leads symbolic capitalists to misunderstand others’ alienation from “us,” often generating misleading and prejudicial descriptions of “those people” and their motives, aspirations and frustrations.

We Have Never Been Woke explored “how a new elite uses the language of social justice to gain more power and status – without helping the marginalized and disadvantaged.” Those People focus on Americans left behind by the symbolic economy and their campaigns for prosperity, freedom, dignity, purpose or, that failing, revenge.

Structurally, the second book will be nearly identical to the first. Six chapters, each functioning as something like an inversion of a chapter from the first book:

1. Unrepresented America
2. Asymmetrical Multiculturalism and Its Discontents
3. The Antipolitics of Humiliation
4. (Symbolic) Death
5. The Elephant in the Room
6. Paradoxes of Populism

For those who haven’t read my first book, Those People will not require or assume any exposure to We Have Never Been Woke, nor will it cover the same ground. I’ll be hitting the beats that were passed over the first time around and skipping the beats that were already played. Each book is intended to be its own epic, unpredictable and satisfying journey.

That said, the two book projects will compliment one-another in interesting ways, and reading them together will provide a much richer, fuller picture of the dynamics that are upending American society and culture (and unsettling other WEIRD countries as well) as compared to reading either text on its own.

For those who have not gotten their hands on it yet, We Have Never Been Woke is available now in hardcover, digital and audio versions. I’m currently touring the U.S. and other Anglophone countries in support of it.

I’ll be slowing down my promotional schedule after this summer, as I turn my attention this fall from researching for the second book to actually nailing down the text. If you want to lock in a date for an interview or talk on We Have Never Been Woke, there will be no better time than right now to make those arrangements. Details on how to book me are available here.

To be notified when Those People is available for preorder — and to generally stay updated on the book as it develops — consider subscribing to my Substack, Symbolic Capital(ism).

You can also follow me on social media by clicking on the social icons below.