WASHINGTON, DC, Sep 28 — Free-market capitalism arrived in America aboard the Mayflower and all the other square-riggers carrying colonists in the 17th century. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services they were seeking political liberty, religious freedom and economic opportunity. The Harvard Business School notes that “the Virginians in Jamestown, the Puritans in Massachusetts Bay, the Quakers in Pennsylvania and other early settlers of what later became the United States all brought with them elements of capitalism, precursors of the future nation’s market-driven direction.”
So, why are politicos, academicians and even corporate executives joining forces in an effort to undermine the very concept that made America great the first time around? Not all, but too many of them are engaging in an effort to replace our economic engine with a decidedly progressive system called Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards.
In a recent interview with Andy Puzder, an expert on the subject of ESG, he told The Epoch Times that “leftist progressive groups are pushing forward environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards on companies and investments, claiming that such standards will benefit society.” He warned that “ESG is simply socialist ideologies being falsely presented as the free market.”
Puzder noted that three of the biggest financial firms on Wall Street, BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard have embraced ESG. These firms control some $20 trillion worth of investments and are using their clout to “impose their will” on companies they invest in. The result is that a growing number of companies in the U.S. and elsewhere are giving in to this newfound, leftist approach to business.
Here’s what Michael Posner, a Senior Contributor at Forbes wrote: “In large part because of [its] explosive growth, the ESG framework has come under the microscope, and is now taking criticism from all sides. Among conservatives, there is a growing chorus of critics who see ESG frameworks as an element of what they deride as ‘woke capitalism.’ In May, former Vice President Mike Pence, writing in the Wall Street Journal, described ESG as a shift in the investment world ‘entirely manufactured by a handful of very large and powerful Wall Street financiers promoting left-wing environmental, social and governance goals and ignoring the interests of businesses and their employees.’ Others, like Senators Ted Cruz [R-TX] and Josh Hawley [R-MO], have piled on, seeking to turn ESG investing into the next political wedge issue.”
Author Frank S. Robinson, a former administrative law judge, penned an Opinion article back in the early days of the ESG movement. He noted that while capitalism may be seen cold-hearted to some, it is an economic system that works for everyone’s benefit; it “gives most people the opportunity to flourish, and the resultant society is the richest attainable, even for the losers…The Left talks about the ‘contradictions of capitalism’, but the only contradiction is that individual striving for advantage serves the common good. It’s anti-capitalism that’s contradictory – the idea of achieving justice by taking away what people have earned. And that this also nurtures poverty rather than solving it…Capitalism is not perfect. No economic system ever can be, and the quest for utopia has produced rivers of blood and tears. But if we accept human imperfection, as we must, a free market economy is as good as it gets.”
America has been a capitalist nation for nearly two and a half centuries. The economic success it has provided for all of us — rich and poor alike — has a history that no one can deny. Communism — socialism on steroids — has been a political structure for little more than 100 years and has created hardship and poverty.
Radical lefty democrats and do-gooders have always turned a blind eye toward all the catastrophic failures of socialism in the countries that have adopted it such as Argentina, Cuba, Venezuela, and Russia. There is no utopia and capitalism with all its flaws has always the closest thing to it. America has uplifted the standard of living of all people in the entire world through the principles established by the greatest political document in the history of the world – The Constitution of the United States created near the end of the eighteenth century. It has passed the test of time with flying colors.
Closer to home, however, socialist concepts like Social Security, Welfare, Medicaid and Medicare that were created in the twentieth century are mostly responsible for the humongous debt that is now greater than our annual GDP and are threatening to take us down. It is inevitable that they will completely destroy our economy and bankrupt us the same way that Socialism has destroyed the above 4 countries, because there is no will in America to address them. The only reason socialist/communist China became an economic power is that it adopted some aspects of capitalism, but its people aren’t sharing in it. The communist party has usurped all of its wealth and the standard of living of its people is more like those in third world countries.
Democrats have become the party of socialism and communism and they won’t give it up until they’ve completely destroyed our economy. We must oppose them and their policies at every turn and address our national debt and our entitlement programs. The clock is ticking. If we don’t do this, our people will soon suffer mightily like those in the failed socialist states are suffering today. Every new day is another day closer to doom and gloom for all of us. Let us pray.
The “S” (social) in ESG seems to me to be way out on the edge of what governance is intended to do according to the system of Constitutional governance. But the DemocRats will push idealism to the brink and a little beyond if it keeps them in power.
Scrap ESG BS
AMAC is to be thanked again for calling a spade a spade. It is too easy to rebrand a wolf in sheep’s clothing and sneak through.
This stuff will continue until conservatives switch to an offensive mindset instead of simply reacting to the latest communist thrust.
Various federal agencies from the Federal Reserve to the SEC want to incorporate this ESG nonsense into their regulatory and decision making processes. All of which will make U.S. companies less competitive against our competitors around the world. Thus making all these companies less profitable and adding costs to the end comsumer.
ESG adds NOTHING to the value of a company ans only entails greater corporate expenses and manpower diverted from generating maximum value and returns to both shareholders and customers. It is a very thinly veiled method of getting the government further into the boardrooms of companies and putting unelected governmental bureaucrats in charge of things they know little to nothing about. Which is why it is so popular within the socialist movement. It moves us away from the capitalistic principles that made this nation the most powerful and successful nation on the planet and turns us towards becoming as inefficient and stagnant as most western European businesses are today. ESG must be purged completely from the American system.
This a conjoined power to instill power of the elite. If we allow this to happen the implications will be solidified making it harder to eliminate the damaged caused. This is a new world order that will continue to enable those that aren’t for our freedom to take it without us even realizing it.
Glen Beck has been warning about this for years. Most Americans won’t wake up until it is applied to them and will follow up with “if only I had known”. I so dislike people like this.
You have to ask, why are the heads of some the biggest companies in American falling in line for this crap? They cannt be that stupid. No they are not. Now that they have made it into the top echelons of wealth and power they dont want to compete to STAY THERE. It is no different than the way corporate management operates within their own companies now. Keep the people one level below them at each others throats, “healthy conflict”, one bean counter who got control of a company I worked for called it. It is how they protect their positions without having to COMPETE FOR IT! All the while claiming they are for free market capitalism.
Well put. No system involving man is perfect, but the American capital system has given the most to the most people. you can bet Latin AMerica would like to reverse the land grants given to the nobles 350 years ago–except for the descendants who still control the land.
The only beneficial role a government can play is the provision of infrastructure and services. That role has been perverted to the point that benevolence has been long lost. The bigger the government, the bigger the problems they will create and spend even more trying to fix the problems they create, with seriously diminishing returns. When you look at the massive amount of money spent on political campaigns it’s clear that power and control overshadow service and benevolence. When the largest donors gain favoritism with the government, the free market is compromised and only those donors are the beneficiaries. Large corporations no longer have to provide superior products or services to improve profitability. Just look at the ACA, (Obummer care), for example. The free market used to provide excellent health care coverage. I, for one, had a serious medical situation in the 80s that lasted 4 years and cost me barely a few dollars out of pocket. Fast forward to 2015 and a 2mm kidney stone was a financial wipeout! Far greater cost with far less coverage, all thanks to government interference in the free market. Corporations will get on board with the guarantee of success without even needing to be competitive when the government regulates their smaller competitors out if existence. Under ACA, insurance was required to avoid penalty. Insurance companies were guaranteed protection against loss by the plan. Insurance was already required to buy a home, a car, etc. Look at the Plannedemic and the obscene profits by big Pharma while the average American took heavy losses. Now the government wants to kill fossil fuel and mandate electric everything before even developing reliable alternative energy sources. According to climate alarmists of a decade ago, we should all be dead by now, but let’s not attack that narrative with any sense of reality. Nearly 99% of us will be paying more and getting less while enriching the 1%. Yes, the free market is seriously compromised, with no one to thank but big government. Croany capitalism is not a free market!
Capitalism gives the opportunity to all feudalism under any other name is still feudalism and benefits only few the push is to force us into it’s fold
It is amazing how so many elitists actually believe that even after socialism’s 100 years of titanic failure, suffering, and death — the Biden administration is going to walk on water and create a socialistic world of truth and justice. Just goes to show, man’s ability to be stupid is infinite.
DICTATOR Beijing biden ORDERED ALL Government Agencies to BUY Cell Phone and Internet Data to SPY on AMERICANS ILLEGALLY WITHOUT A WARRANT VIOLATING OUR 4th AMENDMENT RIGHTS and PRIVACY ACT.
It also VIOLATES ALL Telecommunications Policies.
Ordered to BUY ALL 3rd Party Data to SPY on AMERICANS ILLEGALLY.
This is NO JOKE.
CALL YOUR SENATORS and CONGRESSMEN/CONGRESSWOMEN TODAY!
This is TOTAL FASCISM.
After listening to elitists claiming that unless we achieve their version of climate change they will control the weather and cause more damage unless we do as they say, while people need help recovering from Hurricane Ian’s effects and it is still moving north up the Atlantic Coast. I am extremely tired of listening to the word salad explanations to make things seem their way.
I’m so glad the diseased left came up with the “woke” term. It has given conservatives a term to
beat the dims over the head with for the past 12 months. I love to read anti-woke articles and
they are now being written by the thousands.
Now, the diseased left is giving us another gift. ESG. By January the anti-ESG language will be
so strong that the ” enlightened corporate community ” will scramble to hide under the bed because
as usual the wind will not be blowing their way. Like on a golf course, the corporate world throws
a few pieces of grass up into the air to see which way the wind is blowing and acts accordingly.
You can better believe I won’t make a corporate stock decision based on woke or ESG. It will be
strictly on profit potential and staying power and innovation. ( I’m such a dirty old white man).
The main thing corporate america had better be on its knees about is to pray that Biden dosen’t
put them out of business. “Progressivism” will not save their butts if stock-dumping puts them
out of business. Over the next 2 weeks, we will see enormous amounts of that.
I have long given up on trying to understand how educated elites love communism.
24 hour news can’t explain it. So, a possible cause is perhaps they’re not really
educated.
But a more likely cause, I think, is that the elites believe that communism assures them
of a life of luxury without work while the un or under educated must work constantly to support
the elites.
Finally, I think Marx knew it was BS. He just wanted to drive us all crazy. What a salesman.
Thus the question: Is a philosopher a salesman or is a salesman a philosopher ?
Wealth unfortunately can translate to political power. However, excesses lead to retribution. Before the French Revolution the elites said let them eat cake. Before the Great Reset the elites say let them eat bugs. I say let them eat steel. Anyone want to join me for a guillotine factory IPO?
Socialism isn’t a new thing in the U.S. We have been infected with Socialism since at least 1912. FDR used war to increase Socialism and now we are under full attack from Progressives to bring about a Socialist U.S. Progressives must go!