No, opposing ESG doesn’t make you ‘Taliban-like’
Hudson Crozier
The Left has found another way to falsely accuse conservatives of being like the Taliban. First, it was about pro-life beliefs. Yesterday, Rep. Jim Hines (D-CT) attached the label to Republicans wanting to restrict environmental, social, and governance criteria, or ESG, in corporate America.
“The party formerly of free markets has decided that they will use the power of government to pound on Disney, to pound on banks that … won’t invest in the carbon industry,” Hines said. “[Democrats are] standing up for free markets against a Taliban-like attack on the private sector.”
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ESG is a way for investors to rate companies based on how well they advance liberal political goals financially. Though environmental policy is the most talked-about aspect, the ratings also extend to the controversial world of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI. Hines either misunderstands or deliberately misrepresents the issues conservatives have with ESG.
The scoring system redefines what investment “risk” means by diverting fiduciaries from traditional financial concerns. “Profit” now means a mix of actual profit and what liberals see as a societal benefit. You might not want your retirement fund manager deciding what firms to invest in based on how often they fund LGBT groups or other irrelevant worries, but too bad. President Joe Biden allows this through regulation while bizarrely portraying it as a way to keep political interests (“MAGA Republicans”) out of your financial matters.
ESG is far from a “free market” phenomenon. The most powerful corporations in the world are driving it, pushing ESG mandates on smaller ones. The extent to which they pressure competitors in collusion with one another arguably opens the door to antitrust lawsuits. But suddenly, liberals have found a situation in which they are okay with big corporations and Wall Street screwing over the little guy.
Perhaps more importantly, ESG is a way for unelected rich people to effectively make public policy.
The ESG empire has the power to impose burdensome pseudo-regulation on fossil fuels in states that rely heavily on them. It also spreads divisive DEI programs in the workplace when making it a financial imperative for corporations that might not otherwise care. ESG dramatically affects public life (which is the main reason liberals support it) whether it holds a vote on it or not. ESG bans would not punish entities that “don’t invest in the carbon industry,” as Hines claims. They remove non-financial, political concerns from investment entirely.
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The Left dominates our institutions, including corporate America, to such an extent that government is one of the only areas where conservatives have power. The moment conservatives want to use it to curb that influence, Democrats call them authoritarians for sticking the government’s nose in the private sector. They would be singing a different tune if ESG advanced a right-wing agenda so strongly. Just imagine if companies and fiduciaries had to support the firearm industry or pro-life advocacy.
Hudson Crozier is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.