Unfortunately, I don’t see DEI going anywhere in American corporations, schools, etc. Too many citizens are steeped in this ideology. Broadly speaking women, minorities and liberal leaning men. That’s a lot of people. Can’t speak for Western Europe, but it doesn’t look much better from what I can see. Hope I am wrong.
Sadly, I fear you are too right in your perception.
Ian_S
2 months ago
This is a great example of the way in practice that the woke movement has brought our society to its knees — not by some kind of violent confrontational assault (though there’s been some elements of that too, e.g. BLM riots) — but most importantly by seeping into and saturating all the tiny crevices of organisational spaces; what Foucault called the capillaries of power.
Progressive advance is not only – or even due to legal change as the Florida – Disney dispute shows. It is an ongoing cultural revolution in the West; the comparison can be made with how Christianity took over the Roman Empire. Law followed.
In the UK we have various free speech and other measures passed by the Conservative government. Ok, they are not very conservative but they aren’t “progressive” either. But if 80% of the civil service and educators for example, are hostile to this position, it will be of limited effectiveness. They are the people on the ground. Unless you envisage a much tougher ongoing counter revolution – which is not really in sight in most countries the Progressive Left will unfortunately increase their dominance further.
The US is able to mount a more effective resistance though not at the federal level – because of its federal system.
Do not be afraid. Here are some thoughts for the consideration of anyone facing this at work:
1. The people pushing DEI / ESG within corporations are not bad people. The vast majority believe they are “doing the right thing”, even if there is without doubt a lot of opportunistic box-ticking grifting, ass-covering and virtue-signalling. It’s important to bear that in mind when engaging with them. It’s also important explicitly to recognise legitimate grievances: for example, racism experienced by ethnic minority people in Western countries remains a problem, even if it was not as bad as it once was.
2. It’s possibility to practice “corporate-judo” and turn the momentum built up by these movements against it. For example, agree that it is important to be inclusive, socially responsible and representative; and, therefore, that marginalised people such as the vaccine-injured or smallholding farmers put out of business by net-zero also need to be heard / considered / represented. Jolt consciences by drawing comparisons between today’s marginalised groups with, for example, gay people in the 1980s. People want to be on the right side of history, especially when they can see it turning.
3. Building on that, rather than whinging about the evils of authoritarian faux-progressive wokery on comments boards or submitting snarky comments in anonymous employee surveys, proper classical liberals need to start articulating our case more clearly and more loudly in the workplace. Again, play them at their own game. In response to demands to “do something on DEI”, organise study groups on Orwell, Frankl, Arendt, Burke. Or, to be more up to date, Jonathan Haidt or Kathleen Stock. Keep it positive.
4. Establish common ground to build alliances. Almost everyone can agree that looking after the environment and not being racist is a good; and the vast majority agree on basic human rights. Most people understand that well-intended interventions can have unintended adverse consequences. Gently point this out, but avoid threatening the ego of someone who has invested a lot of personal meaning in their (probably net harmful) pet DEI / ESG project. Try and make friends with the most woke person you can find at work, using hobbies and interests (food, football, family, whatever) to build rapport. Work with them to try and reorient the “DEI agenda” towards something that is genuinely inclusive of all customers / employees.
5. Remember that the DEI / ESG ideologies are wafer thin, fragile, ephemeral things. Think of them as fads. Like fondue sets, the Cabbage Patch Kids, tamagotchis, fears about dangerous dogs, Mr Blobby, prog rock, the R-rate of viral transmission, Pokémon Go, the hole in the Ozone Layer, Bob the Builder, and the Millennium Bug, they will, in time, fade away into cultural and political background. This too, shall pass and the tide will turn.
6. Most important of all DO NOT BE AFRAID. In the UK, at least, employment and equalities law protects a legitimately held philosophical view (just as it protects religious faith). Engage with a positive mindset, a smile on your face (even if it conceals gritted teeth), and always with the best interests of your company at heart. Avoid the unfortunate irony of turning your challenges into a political or moral crusade – make it squarely about helping your company to achieve its already-stated objectives. You may be surprised how many people feel able to speak up once one person finds the courage to do so.
Personally I’m far more concerned about good, albeit misguided, people trying to do good and inadvertently causing harm, than I am about bad people deliberately trying to cause havoc. Very few people are sociopaths, and most people just follow the crowd which – admittedly – a tiny minority of powerful sociopaths are able to manipulate through psychological and emotional blackmail and fear (and even the sociopaths might well have persuaded themselves that their mad plans are some common good). The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and the line between good and evil runs through every human heart.
Excellent and sensible advice based on real insight Andrew. That said you may find that setting up a reading group on Material Girls even balanced with one of bel hooks books will probably cause an orchestrated trigger tantrum.
A really interesting post. I warm to all calls for positive calm pushback to the anti discriminatory mania and lazy progressive ideology. Only two quibbles. At the heart of the DEI ideological push in the UK is State mandated action on equality. The EQA laws of 2010 and 2015 & their victim/oppressor nostrum are the key drivers…and those laws are having myriad catastrophic impacts, mainly in the communal/socio-cultural sphere. Look too at Birmingham…hard at night as they now cannot afford lights. A deranged misreading of gender pay equality (comparing not like with like jobs but say male binmen and female receptionists) has bankrupted a major city with a billion pound bill. DEI is also unashamedly anti meritocratic. Not good when the public sector is buckling under the pressures of uncontrolled unplanned mass migration.
I think this is well argued and worth trying. However, the progressive agenda is now almost fully detached from reality in many respects: men can declare themselves women, with obvious consequences for women’s rights. And racism is just fine, as long as it is directed at white (or Jewish) people – or indeed snide comments about non white people who don’t tow the “progressive” identitarian agenda.
Many woke activists are in fact NOT acting in good faith but are thoroughly obnoxious bullying people.
I believe that this phenomenon is best seen is an ongoing cultural revolution in the West. The equally irrational and fanatical 4th century Christians acted in a very similar way as they suborned and took over the Roman Empire!
Andrew, thanks. It is quite rare that anyone has any advice on what to do. Cheers to you!
“ The people pushing DEI / ESG within corporations are not bad people. The vast majority believe they are “doing the right thing”, even if there is without doubt a lot of opportunistic box-ticking grifting, ass-covering and virtue-signalling”
And that how evil grows. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” and hell on earth is what their purported ignorance courts. Purported as that quiet internal voice whispering the truth, that something isn’t right is, I believe is always there.
I agree with your guidance, don’t mistake me. I’m just pointing out that decades of western ease and inattention to the wellspring of our success – morals, merit, rationality paired with Judeo Christian values – is what got our culture to now.
Walter Marvell
2 months ago
America must fight this War against the disastrous failed European/UK progressive model of governance. It enforces a top down anti capitalist and anti growth regulatory technocratic Order, enforced by vast grad armies of permanent bureaucratic state power elites. Its recent capture by deranged ideologies of the Left – Net Zero, Magic Money and DEI – have choked off hope of growth in Europe. Europe’s Codified Legal System is anti capitalist, compelling crass intervention by these middling ‘technocrats’ into every area of life with its precautionary principle. Europe is risk averse. This contrasts markedly with the more fluid and superior Common Law of the UK (pre EU capture) and America, which rewards risk and encourages innovation. Europe is now trapped in its nightmarish Anti Growth Cage. America must indeed recognise these dangers and resist sickly corruption by Euro-style Ways.
It’s rather amusing that much of the European Right Wing blames you guys! The “GAE” (Great American Empire)! Did Europeans start the BLM movement or burn down parts of our inner cities?
Progressivism certainly seems much more entrenched and extreme in the US. The Europeans often just follow in pale imitation. However it is true that the US federal system also gives much more opportunities for conservative push back, as in Florida than in European unitary states.
john d rockemella
2 months ago
Hit the nail on the head! This stakeholder capitalism is not a free market economy! Almost designed to crash capitalism to bring in the great reset im sure! All by design. Too many coincidences now. Well
Engineered and executed plan, which has been drawn up over decades to bring in global governance through financial an medical tyranny. More to come i’m sure..
It’s not a plan – that’s just ridiculous and an almost childish way of looking at the world. Were Thatcher and Reagan part of this “plan” in your opinion? Human society and history are immensely complicated and consequences can be unseen! We have a terrible record of predicting the future.
That was maybe a little rude. But I agree, while some do have a plan, the broader picture is more complex. That being said, things are not looking good.
Alex Lekas
2 months ago
This article goes a long way to say that incentives work, whether those incentives are used for beneficial reasons or perverse ones. But when Disney management sought to express “solidarity” with its employees, it did so by capitulating totally to the first group while ignoring the second. Of course, that’s what management did. Because there was no incentive to side with the second group. All of the preening and posturing was associated with the first.
The political ideology of the C-suite is irrelevant. Human nature is human nature. People invariably choose no pain over pain. The people who oppose sterilizing children are seen as far less troublesome than the activist community that supports it. The media glommed onto the “don’t say gay” talking point even though that was nowhere in the bill. When something is obviously framed as good guys vs. bad guys, it’s not hard to see how CEOs will react.
Initially I fully agreed with the author’s approach – on reflection what he describes (shift of power from shareholders to managers) has been happening for decades (defined by Galbraith in 1967 as “Technostructure” where managers and other company leading administrators, scientists, or lawyers retain more power and influence than the shareholders in the decisional and directional process.” (from Wikipedia).
I think the intent of Stakeholder capitalism is to give the opportunity to corporations to increase their power and influence in the political sphere, with DEI and ESG initiatives providing the guise for private organisations to actively interfere and shape the public political, social and cultural landscape.
David Kingsworthy
2 months ago
“the political makeup of regulators is overwhelmingly Democratic”
Whoa careful, you sound conspiratorial there….. everyone knows there is no such thing as a Deep State.
William Brand
2 months ago
Woe to him who calls evil good and good evil. The judgment of God is coming soon. God will send plagues and asteroids to punish these woke leaders. He will also destroy the United States as the main source of WOKE. The devil will get 7 years to rule and then Christ returns, and Satan is bound for 1000 years.
Unfortunately, I don’t see DEI going anywhere in American corporations, schools, etc. Too many citizens are steeped in this ideology. Broadly speaking women, minorities and liberal leaning men. That’s a lot of people. Can’t speak for Western Europe, but it doesn’t look much better from what I can see. Hope I am wrong.
The virus of DEI has embedded itself with quite astonishing in Western Europe if Ireland is used as an example.
Trust the ‘Plastic Paddies’ to lead the way!
Not actually most ethnic minorities and certainly not Muslims! There is a purely transactional political coalition which is very fragile.
Sadly, I fear you are too right in your perception.
This is a great example of the way in practice that the woke movement has brought our society to its knees — not by some kind of violent confrontational assault (though there’s been some elements of that too, e.g. BLM riots) — but most importantly by seeping into and saturating all the tiny crevices of organisational spaces; what Foucault called the capillaries of power.
Law is the battering ram. Always State driven law.
No, that is completely the wrong way around.
Progressive advance is not only – or even due to legal change as the Florida – Disney dispute shows. It is an ongoing cultural revolution in the West; the comparison can be made with how Christianity took over the Roman Empire. Law followed.
In the UK we have various free speech and other measures passed by the Conservative government. Ok, they are not very conservative but they aren’t “progressive” either. But if 80% of the civil service and educators for example, are hostile to this position, it will be of limited effectiveness. They are the people on the ground. Unless you envisage a much tougher ongoing counter revolution – which is not really in sight in most countries the Progressive Left will unfortunately increase their dominance further.
The US is able to mount a more effective resistance though not at the federal level – because of its federal system.
Agree
Do not be afraid. Here are some thoughts for the consideration of anyone facing this at work:
1. The people pushing DEI / ESG within corporations are not bad people. The vast majority believe they are “doing the right thing”, even if there is without doubt a lot of opportunistic box-ticking grifting, ass-covering and virtue-signalling. It’s important to bear that in mind when engaging with them. It’s also important explicitly to recognise legitimate grievances: for example, racism experienced by ethnic minority people in Western countries remains a problem, even if it was not as bad as it once was.
2. It’s possibility to practice “corporate-judo” and turn the momentum built up by these movements against it. For example, agree that it is important to be inclusive, socially responsible and representative; and, therefore, that marginalised people such as the vaccine-injured or smallholding farmers put out of business by net-zero also need to be heard / considered / represented. Jolt consciences by drawing comparisons between today’s marginalised groups with, for example, gay people in the 1980s. People want to be on the right side of history, especially when they can see it turning.
3. Building on that, rather than whinging about the evils of authoritarian faux-progressive wokery on comments boards or submitting snarky comments in anonymous employee surveys, proper classical liberals need to start articulating our case more clearly and more loudly in the workplace. Again, play them at their own game. In response to demands to “do something on DEI”, organise study groups on Orwell, Frankl, Arendt, Burke. Or, to be more up to date, Jonathan Haidt or Kathleen Stock. Keep it positive.
4. Establish common ground to build alliances. Almost everyone can agree that looking after the environment and not being racist is a good; and the vast majority agree on basic human rights. Most people understand that well-intended interventions can have unintended adverse consequences. Gently point this out, but avoid threatening the ego of someone who has invested a lot of personal meaning in their (probably net harmful) pet DEI / ESG project. Try and make friends with the most woke person you can find at work, using hobbies and interests (food, football, family, whatever) to build rapport. Work with them to try and reorient the “DEI agenda” towards something that is genuinely inclusive of all customers / employees.
5. Remember that the DEI / ESG ideologies are wafer thin, fragile, ephemeral things. Think of them as fads. Like fondue sets, the Cabbage Patch Kids, tamagotchis, fears about dangerous dogs, Mr Blobby, prog rock, the R-rate of viral transmission, Pokémon Go, the hole in the Ozone Layer, Bob the Builder, and the Millennium Bug, they will, in time, fade away into cultural and political background. This too, shall pass and the tide will turn.
6. Most important of all DO NOT BE AFRAID. In the UK, at least, employment and equalities law protects a legitimately held philosophical view (just as it protects religious faith). Engage with a positive mindset, a smile on your face (even if it conceals gritted teeth), and always with the best interests of your company at heart. Avoid the unfortunate irony of turning your challenges into a political or moral crusade – make it squarely about helping your company to achieve its already-stated objectives. You may be surprised how many people feel able to speak up once one person finds the courage to do so.
Oh I think they are bad people. They are making bad things happen. Thats the definition of bad. So I disagree with your opening premise.
Personally I’m far more concerned about good, albeit misguided, people trying to do good and inadvertently causing harm, than I am about bad people deliberately trying to cause havoc. Very few people are sociopaths, and most people just follow the crowd which – admittedly – a tiny minority of powerful sociopaths are able to manipulate through psychological and emotional blackmail and fear (and even the sociopaths might well have persuaded themselves that their mad plans are some common good). The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and the line between good and evil runs through every human heart.
Excellent and sensible advice based on real insight Andrew. That said you may find that setting up a reading group on Material Girls even balanced with one of bel hooks books will probably cause an orchestrated trigger tantrum.
A really interesting post. I warm to all calls for positive calm pushback to the anti discriminatory mania and lazy progressive ideology. Only two quibbles. At the heart of the DEI ideological push in the UK is State mandated action on equality. The EQA laws of 2010 and 2015 & their victim/oppressor nostrum are the key drivers…and those laws are having myriad catastrophic impacts, mainly in the communal/socio-cultural sphere. Look too at Birmingham…hard at night as they now cannot afford lights. A deranged misreading of gender pay equality (comparing not like with like jobs but say male binmen and female receptionists) has bankrupted a major city with a billion pound bill. DEI is also unashamedly anti meritocratic. Not good when the public sector is buckling under the pressures of uncontrolled unplanned mass migration.
I think this is well argued and worth trying. However, the progressive agenda is now almost fully detached from reality in many respects: men can declare themselves women, with obvious consequences for women’s rights. And racism is just fine, as long as it is directed at white (or Jewish) people – or indeed snide comments about non white people who don’t tow the “progressive” identitarian agenda.
Many woke activists are in fact NOT acting in good faith but are thoroughly obnoxious bullying people.
I believe that this phenomenon is best seen is an ongoing cultural revolution in the West. The equally irrational and fanatical 4th century Christians acted in a very similar way as they suborned and took over the Roman Empire!
Andrew, thanks. It is quite rare that anyone has any advice on what to do. Cheers to you!
“ The people pushing DEI / ESG within corporations are not bad people. The vast majority believe they are “doing the right thing”, even if there is without doubt a lot of opportunistic box-ticking grifting, ass-covering and virtue-signalling”
And that how evil grows. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” and hell on earth is what their purported ignorance courts. Purported as that quiet internal voice whispering the truth, that something isn’t right is, I believe is always there.
I agree with your guidance, don’t mistake me. I’m just pointing out that decades of western ease and inattention to the wellspring of our success – morals, merit, rationality paired with Judeo Christian values – is what got our culture to now.
America must fight this War against the disastrous failed European/UK progressive model of governance. It enforces a top down anti capitalist and anti growth regulatory technocratic Order, enforced by vast grad armies of permanent bureaucratic state power elites. Its recent capture by deranged ideologies of the Left – Net Zero, Magic Money and DEI – have choked off hope of growth in Europe. Europe’s Codified Legal System is anti capitalist, compelling crass intervention by these middling ‘technocrats’ into every area of life with its precautionary principle. Europe is risk averse. This contrasts markedly with the more fluid and superior Common Law of the UK (pre EU capture) and America, which rewards risk and encourages innovation. Europe is now trapped in its nightmarish Anti Growth Cage. America must indeed recognise these dangers and resist sickly corruption by Euro-style Ways.
It’s rather amusing that much of the European Right Wing blames you guys! The “GAE” (Great American Empire)! Did Europeans start the BLM movement or burn down parts of our inner cities?
Progressivism certainly seems much more entrenched and extreme in the US. The Europeans often just follow in pale imitation. However it is true that the US federal system also gives much more opportunities for conservative push back, as in Florida than in European unitary states.
Hit the nail on the head! This stakeholder capitalism is not a free market economy! Almost designed to crash capitalism to bring in the great reset im sure! All by design. Too many coincidences now. Well
Engineered and executed plan, which has been drawn up over decades to bring in global governance through financial an medical tyranny. More to come i’m sure..
It’s not a plan – that’s just ridiculous and an almost childish way of looking at the world. Were Thatcher and Reagan part of this “plan” in your opinion? Human society and history are immensely complicated and consequences can be unseen! We have a terrible record of predicting the future.
That was maybe a little rude. But I agree, while some do have a plan, the broader picture is more complex. That being said, things are not looking good.
This article goes a long way to say that incentives work, whether those incentives are used for beneficial reasons or perverse ones.
But when Disney management sought to express “solidarity” with its employees, it did so by capitulating totally to the first group while ignoring the second. Of course, that’s what management did. Because there was no incentive to side with the second group. All of the preening and posturing was associated with the first.
The political ideology of the C-suite is irrelevant. Human nature is human nature. People invariably choose no pain over pain. The people who oppose sterilizing children are seen as far less troublesome than the activist community that supports it. The media glommed onto the “don’t say gay” talking point even though that was nowhere in the bill. When something is obviously framed as good guys vs. bad guys, it’s not hard to see how CEOs will react.
‘People invariably choose no pain over pain‘ aka cowardice.
And choosing pain over no pain is masochism.
Initially I fully agreed with the author’s approach – on reflection what he describes (shift of power from shareholders to managers) has been happening for decades (defined by Galbraith in 1967 as “Technostructure” where managers and other company leading administrators, scientists, or lawyers retain more power and influence than the shareholders in the decisional and directional process.” (from Wikipedia).
I think the intent of Stakeholder capitalism is to give the opportunity to corporations to increase their power and influence in the political sphere, with DEI and ESG initiatives providing the guise for private organisations to actively interfere and shape the public political, social and cultural landscape.
“the political makeup of regulators is overwhelmingly Democratic”
Whoa careful, you sound conspiratorial there….. everyone knows there is no such thing as a Deep State.
Woe to him who calls evil good and good evil. The judgment of God is coming soon. God will send plagues and asteroids to punish these woke leaders. He will also destroy the United States as the main source of WOKE. The devil will get 7 years to rule and then Christ returns, and Satan is bound for 1000 years.
Articles like this are why I subscribe.