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This week, over a dozen Republican state financial officers urged the Business Roundtable, a major business lobbying group, to reconsider its support for “woke capitalism.”
In a letter sent Wednesday to the organization, which represents over 200 CEOs and a quarter of the nation’s GDP, the financial officers from 14 states criticized the Roundtable’s 2019 adoption of a “stakeholder capitalism” model. They argue that this approach, which prioritizes social goals over profits, has led CEOs to engage in political activism and push leftist agendas.
The financial officers wrote in the letter: “Institutions of all kinds are being pressured to depart from their proper purpose and serve a left-wing ideology. In the case of corporations, doing so harms shareholder value. It is more important than ever to honestly state the purpose of your corporation and your role, and ‘live not by lies.’”
The letter coincides with the five-year anniversary of the Business Roundtable’s new statement of purpose, where dozens of influential CEOs pledged to prioritize a “commitment to all stakeholders” over the previous focus on serving shareholders exclusively.
🚨 A little-known group out of Washington, D.C. — that boasts many Fortune 500 CEOs as members — is quietly working behind-the-scenes to help force ESG and DEI onto corporate America.⁰⁰Meet Business Roundtable 🧵 pic.twitter.com/Wvi9KmLnOX
— Will Hild (@WillHild) August 30, 2024
The Daily Wire reported that Noah Wall, Executive Vice President of Policy and Governmental Affairs at the State Financial Officers Foundation, claimed the Business Roundtable’s embrace of stakeholder capitalism has led companies to make poor business decisions with detrimental consequences, stating: “From our perspective, the last five years have been an utter disaster. You’ve seen companies undertake a whole host of different types of activities that have been focused on politics rather than the bottom line, rather than providing a quality good or service.”
This activism includes instances like Coca-Cola’s 2021 criticism of Georgia’s election law and Bud Light’s partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. Will Hild, leader of the anti-woke group Consumers’ Research, stated that activist CEOs have used this shift to advance their own political agendas, also voicing to The Daily Wire: “Whenever they want to push a far Left, progressive agenda, they will claim they are not doing it of their own volition, they are doing it on behalf a ‘stakeholder’ and that that’s ok because stakeholder capitalism is actually better for the shareholders.”
Some businesses are now retreating from politics. Recently, companies like Jack Daniels and Harley-Davidson have scaled back their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies after customer backlash led by conservative activist Robby Starbuck. Lowe’s has also shifted its focus to apolitical causes such as disaster relief and trade education. Even Business Roundtable members like Tractor Supply and John Deere have announced moves away from woke initiatives.
Financial officers from 14 states, including Alabama, Alaska, and Arizona, signed a letter urging Business Roundtable members to reconsider their support for the stakeholder capitalism model.
