by Jessica Anderson
Americans were just issued a dire warning after “Dilbert,” a comic beloved by many over the years, was dropped from 77 publications after over three decades.
Created by cartoonist Scott Adams, “Dilbert” uses satire to poke fun at traditional office life on a number of issues, which recently included “ESG.” As this particular comic strip explained, the ESG movement seeks to use a new set of criteria — environmental, social, and governance — to evaluate businesses and consumers based on how well they align with the progressives’ woke priorities, including climate radicalism, gender ideology, gun control and even abortion-on-demand.
Probably not by coincidence, “Dilbert” was dropped from many major publications after pointing out the lunacy of such policies. There’s no doubt its culture-shaping commentary will be missed by many that enjoyed the subtle humor. What is not so subtle, however, is the ESG movement, which has used the Left’s fear-driven, systemic cancel culture to trigger major workplace policy changes and squeeze the syndication outlets for popular cultural figures like Dilbert.
But why should you care about what happens to successful cartoonists or in corporate boardrooms?
Because it’s not stopping there — the ESG movement is set on taking over culture and business to control working Americans through its radical and at times bizarre scoring system, which punishes or rewards people based on their race, sexual orientation, carbon footprint, or wokeness.
Small business owners, investors and consumers are the real targets of this rage against our culture and normal business practices. The ESG scorekeepers are looking closely at everything we do to identify “victims” and “oppressors.” Think of it as an alternative accounting system using social media and corporate governance to punish those citizens and businesses that don’t fit into the Left’s woke ideological vision for the future.
#Dilbert was canceled in 77 newspapers after creator @ScottAdamsSays pointed out the ridiculousness of ESG.
THIS is the hidden danger of ESG: the Left doesn’t want you to know what these policies actually mean, and they’ll cancel anyone who tries to tell you. https://t.co/oFc2PGpkY6 pic.twitter.com/TbGFV4ky32
— Heritage Action (@Heritage_Action) September 21, 2022
If you don’t comply, they can work to drive away your customers, dry up your capital and publicly shame you.
Need a fresh example?
In a House Financial Services committee hearing last week, Rep. Rashida Tlaib asked CEOs of major banks whether they would go along with her ESG agenda and commit to stop funding fossil fuels. Unsurprisingly, they all declined and J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon even admitted that her plan “would be the road to Hell for America.” Rep. Al Green followed up and asked the CEOs whether they believed their banks had done enough to “atone” for their part in slavery.
Earlier in September, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called for credit card companies to start categorizing purchases consumers make at gun stores. Soon after, companies like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express announced that they would fall in line and start tracking purchases. This could essentially result in the creation of a de facto gun registry, maintained by private companies, that progressives could use to target law-abiding gun owners.
On Sept. 19, the corporate communications company, Twilio, announced that it would be laying off 11% of its workforce. Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson of course clarified that these layoffs would be made through an “Anti-Racist” lens. Under ESG policies, companies like Twilio will be rewarded for considering race, not merit, when making personnel decisions.
While this is just one of the early examples of woke governance policies, there will be plenty of other examples in businesses and companies of all sizes.
Dilbert was right; this is absurd, just not funny. So what can be done?
Over a dozen states, including Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee have already fought back by protecting their states’ pensions, investments and contracts, but more needs to be done to counter the ESG movement. The federal government must also be kept in check with progressives like Tlaib hell-bent on turning this into federal policy and President Joe Biden’s bureaucracy trying to use the Securities and Exchange Commission to do just that.
Whether you are Adams or an average American looking to make an honest living, ESG hurts everyone. Citizens and CEOs alike need to call out ESG when they see it, and unite to reject its implementation from the boardroom down to the factory floor.
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Jessica Anderson is the Executive Director of Heritage Action.
Photo “Rashida Tlaib” by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
