The system (sometimes also the structures) is portrayed by woke activists as a societal system based on power structures; in particular racism, colonialism, cis-heteronormativity, environmental destruction, social inequality, patriarchal masculinity, and queerphobia.405
The existing system is considered incapable of reform, as it is ultimately based on the exploitation and oppression of certain groups (see Conflict). The primary enemy image is the so-called “old white men” who are not interested in allyship. However, minorities who are not sufficiently woke are also considered part of the system.
The system is to be transformed by destroying all associated power structures. To this end, woke activists want to spread sufficient consciousness in the population (see New Left and Critical Pedagogy).406
The system is often equated with capitalism and utopian alternatives are sought. However, how these new, socialist alternatives are supposed to function remains uncertain: previous attempts were marked by crime, corruption, and cancel culture. Examples include progressively governed regions such as San Francisco or woke NGOs (such as BLM).407 But it is not only racism-critical activism that has so far failed to bring liberation from the system. Particularly momentous was climate-just activism: the system change in Sri Lanka according to the ideas of ecological activists led to an economic collapse with famine within a few months in 2021. The ESG index for Sri Lanka at that time was 98.4 out of 100.408