Woke Capitalism
April 6, 2023 — John Hinderaker
The wokeness of American big business is one of the most curious phenomena of our times. What is driving it? And how can it be stopped? The mantra “Get woke, go broke” is popular on the right, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be particularly true. The latest controversy is over a “trans” woman, i.e. a man or boy, named Dylan Mulvaney. Who is Mulvaney, and why is he suddenly
»
February 9, 2023 — John Hinderaker
This afternoon, I appeared on the “U.S. Report” show on Sky News Australia with host James Morrow. It is a terrific show: the guests ahead of me were Mick Mulvaney and Tammy Bruce. Morrow began our conversation by showing this Disney video: This Disney clip is pure critical race theory, including the insane conspiracy theory that Lincoln did not free the slaves.pic.twitter.com/kLqPUU34Mn — Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) February 5,
»
December 7, 2022 — John Hinderaker
Why has pretty much all of big business gone left-wing? There are several theories, none of which seem to me to fully explain the phenomenon. But whatever the causes, the effect is an inescapable part of our daily landscape. Here are a few instances for today. Disney has a new/old CEO in Bob Iger, and many speculated that he would pull back on that company’s extreme leftism. But not for
»
November 16, 2022 — John Hinderaker
Target Corporation reported its third quarter results today. The report wasn’t good, in large part because Target stores are being robbed left and right: Target stores are getting looted, and it’s taking a huge bite out of profits. The discount retailer told reporters on a call to discuss its third quarter earnings results that inventory shrinkage — or the disappearance of merchandise — has reduced its gross profit margin by
»
November 3, 2022 — John Hinderaker
The slogan “Get woke, go broke” is appealing, but unfortunately it often is not true. Wokeness has turned out all too well–so far, at least–for too many businesses. But injecting left-wing politics into contexts where they don’t belong can have consequences. As Jimmy Kimmel proudly tells us: ABC’s late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel has made Trump bashing a central part of his TV persona. Now he has publicly admitted that his
»
August 30, 2022 — John Hinderaker
One of the most pernicious trends of our day is the employment of “environmental, social and governance” (ESG) criteria in investing. Former Vice President Mike Pence writes at Real Clear Markets: On Wall Street, major investment firms are rating companies based on their adherence to left-wing environmental, social and governance (ESG) values. Like the social credit scores issued by the Chinese Communist Party, a low ESG score can be devastating,
»
July 5, 2022 — John Hinderaker
Why corporations see a need to adopt left-wing talking points as corporate policy is a great mystery of our time. I don’t know, maybe sometimes it works out. Other times it doesn’t: just ask the producers of Buzz Lightyear. Today’s heartwarming story comes from the U.K. via Australia, as my friend Rita Panahi comments on a major bank’s effort to jam gender ideology down the throats of its customers: “Get
»
June 29, 2022 — John Hinderaker
Several decades ago I subscribed to Bon Appetit magazine. In those days, it was all about good food, consisting of articles about, and recipes from, excellent restaurants. But, as in so many areas of contemporary life, those days are gone. Bon Appetit survives–barely, I think–but its primary mission these days seems to be wokeness. Check out the magazine’s InstaGram feed to see what I mean. Here are some examples: A
»
June 26, 2022 — Steven Hayward
Buzz Lightyear (voiced by the great Tim Allen, one of the few right-leaning stars in Hollywood) became an iconic character in the Toy Story series of films, but the new standalone Buzz Lightyear movie, with Buzz voiced by Chris Evans instead of Allen, has bombed at the box office, perhaps because it decided to go fully woke by prominently featuring a lesbian relationship. As Kyle Smith puts it, “today Hollywood’s
»
June 25, 2022 — John Hinderaker
Paul Clement, Solicitor General in the George W. Bush administration, is one of the top appellate lawyers in the country. He and his partner Erin Murphy have been with the large Chicago-based law firm Kirkland & Ellis since 2016. Last week, Clement and Murphy won one of the biggest victories of their careers when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of their client the New York State Rifle
»
April 24, 2022 — Steven Hayward
A lot of leftists are claiming that the move of Florida Republicans to strip Disney’s favorable tax treatment and local governance prerogatives is a hypocritical attack on free speech, but it is nothing of the sort. There is no attempt to curtail the speech or political activism of Disney or any other corporation, though the irony is that the left wants corporate political speech banned or regulated by the government,
»
April 22, 2022 — John Hinderaker
Today Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that revokes Disney’s virtually self-governing status in that state. The cause, of course, was Disney’s aggressive pro-groomer, anti-parent political stance. Not long ago it would have been unthinkable for a major corporation to stick its neck out in support of an unpopular, even radical political position that doesn’t even relate to the company’s business. Now perhaps we understand why. The Wall Street Journal
»
April 18, 2022 — Steven Hayward
The hottest new thing for Woke Wall Street is “ESG” investing, where ESG stands for “environment, social, and governance.” In other words, investing in politically correct sectors like “green” energy, media, and so forth, and avoiding investing in tobacco, arms manufacturers, and above all fossil fuel energy companies. ESG has become, Barron’s reports, “one of Wall Streets favorite buzzwords.” Only the name and acronym are new. Twenty years ago “sustainable”
»
March 31, 2022 — John Hinderaker
I grew up during Walt Disney’s golden age. I still remember some of the great Disney films of the 1950s and early 1960s. That may be partly because Disney movies were the only ones my older brother and I were allowed to see, but in any event they made a deep impression on me. Davy Crockett was fantastic; I owned a coonskin cap. Johnny Tremain, based on a very good
»
January 12, 2022 — John Hinderaker
Unilever is a massive international conglomerate headquartered in London that predominantly sells food products. Like many other companies Unilever has gone “woke,” as its web site reflects. Unilever claims to be all about its “values,” a company that “take[s] action on the issues affecting our world.” But many observers are not convinced. The Telegraph headlines: “Investment star Terry Smith attacks Unilever for ‘ludicrous’ focus on social and environmental issues.” One
»
