Many conservatives and libertarians today lament the rise of “wokeness,” even to the point of believing it to be the greatest political danger facing America. Some of these fears are well-taken.

But concerns about wokeness have distracted many on the center-right from a more serious danger, one far more likely to gain widespread support and cause great harm: nationalism. Terrible woke ideas should be criticized. However, their impact is limited by the smaller numbers of their proponents. Nationalists are far more numerous. And if nationalists acquire the power they seek, they would implement an agenda that does great harm to the lives, freedom, and well-being of millions of people. 

Wokeness should neither be neglected nor treated as harmless. But when comparing the two, the nationalist threat should take priority. It’s long past time for right-leaning critics of both ideologies to treat nationalism for what it is: the greatest threat to liberal democratic institutions today.