woke capitalism

August 23, 2022

Customers put product value ahead of political values

For years American business has allowed itself to be swayed by the push and pull of political culture. Investment decisions, corporate donations, and hiring practices have been made in response to a culture that demands acquiescence or cancellation. Continue Reading...

August 26, 2021

How America’s ‘creative class’ learned to love conformity

In 2000, columnist David Brooks wrote Bobos in Paradise, hailing the dawn of a new phase in America’s longstanding story of meritocracy. The “bobos” were a peculiar breed — part bohemian, part bourgeoisie — blurring class divides in a way that would introduce a new form of enlightened, activist citizenship in a country with an otherwise ambivalent middle class. Continue Reading...

October 02, 2020

Everything that’s wrong with Dick Costolo’s tweet in 1,531 characters

Woke capitalism went into overdrive on Wednesday, when a former Twitter CEO seemingly endorsed the full-scale liquidation of entrepreneurs who refuse to bring politics into the workplace. Dick Costolo served as COO of Twitter before becoming its CEO from 2010 to 2015. Continue Reading...

November 22, 2019

Nibbling at Dylan Pahman’s Chick-fil-A argument

As though guided by an invisible hand Dylan Pahman and I – independently and without coordination – each posted an essay about Chick-fil-A’s philanthropic giving within minutes of one another, each with slightly different emphases. Continue Reading...

November 20, 2019

The social responsibility of Chick-fil-A is to make delicious sandwiches

Chicken giant or giant chicken? That is the question conservative cultural commentators are asking this week as news broke that restaurant chain Chick-fil-A, known for being closed on Sunday due to its owners’ Christian values, announced that it will no longer support the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Continue Reading...

November 20, 2019

Kanye West, Chick-fil-A, and the need for authenticity

One year ago, no one could have predicted that American Christians would hold Kanye West in higher esteem than Chick-fil-A. Yet the nation has seen two cultural transformations take place this week at the intersection of faith and commerce. Continue Reading...

October 03, 2019

Samuel Gregg on the bankruptcy of woke capitalism

Should corporations hitch their businesses to leftist causes, such as suppressing the Betsy Ross flag? At Public Discourse, Acton Institute Director of Research Samuel Gregg writes that “woke capitalism feeds on deep confusion about the nature and ends of business.” Continue Reading...