Elon Musk is clear in saying that he does not have time nor patience to devote his efforts to awake culture. Social justice advocacy, to be clear, is a business that holds itself back in many areas in an effort to satisfy a current political trend.
One thing Musk seems to have a very real aversion to is the “Environmental, Social, and Governance” (ECG) standards which are effectively a leftist activist’s wishlist for corporations to check off so activist investors know who to put their money into. Non-compliance with these standards could lead to activists targeting your company and bad publicity.
True to form for leftist activists, however, they’ve jumped on the bandwagon of wanting war with Russia in order to protect Ukraine and as such, ESG funds are now being directed towards defense companies who make weapons that fight hostile regimes according to entrepreneur Marc Andreessen.
It is odd that the left, which was known for its extreme protests against wars, now embraces it. Moreover, as Andreessen points out, they will help fund a war against energy-producing companies but won’t invest in energy companies.
“The plan: ESG funds will invest in defense companies to make the weapons required to fight wars with hostile regimes we buy energy from, because ESG funds won’t invest in energy companies,” tweeted Andreessen.
“ESG rules have been twisted into insanity,” responded Musk.
ESG Rules have been made insane
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 8, 2022
In a follow-up tweet to another person who noted that the ESG is based on the “moment’s political whim,” Musk said in no uncertain terms that the ESG has got to go if it can’t be fixed.
If ESG is not being fixed, it should be removed
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 8, 2022
What is the danger of using ESG? According to Daily Wire’s analysis, leftist activists often use the ESG to get into companies. They pretend to be helping them improve their company and then continue to expand their influence within the organization, thus making it another vehicle for their political messages.
As The Daily Wire explained last summer, “activist investors” have long sought to reform troubled companies by taking over upper management. However, some modern “activist investors” are — quite literally — “activists.” Beyond increasing firms’ profits, fund managers are pressuring companies resistant to systemic change into adopting ESG criteria.
Engine No. 1 — an investment firm that believes “a company’s performance is greatly enhanced by the investments it makes in workers, communities, and the environment” — snagged a 0.02% stake in ExxonMobil and sent an activist letter to the Board of Directors, alleging that the oil and gas giant “must change” with the times, eventually clinching three of the fossil fuel company’s twelve board seats.
Many companies have become social justice focused, sometimes releasing messages that overtly support an activist group’s opinion. Some of the most prominent examples make it seem that other people are being oppressed or an antagonist. Gillette famously released an anti-male commercial about toxic masculinity that sunk the company’s bottom line by billions.
This division brought on by these activists creates an “us vs. them” kind of feeling in our society as woke culture typically does. Musk is right. Businesses must reject this insanity and publicly condemn it.
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