Should corporations, sports leagues, and other public entities “take a public stance” on the issues of the day, particularly all of the “social justice” unpleasantness that’s been making the rounds? According to a recent survey from Gallup, that depends on who you ask. And I mean it very much depends on the ideology and party affiliation of the person who is responding to the question. For most of our readers, it will likely not come as much of a surprise to learn that Democrats and progressives are vastly more likely to demand that corporations “take a stand” on whatever pet issues they want to fight about. Fully three-quarters of self-identifying Democrats or progressives feel that way. The rest of the country, including Republicans and independents, are far, far less inclined to say the same. (Daily Wire)
Americans who identify themselves as Democrats are far more likely than the rest of the population to support companies that take stands on social and political issues.
Some 75% of Democrats believe that businesses should generally “take a public stance on current events,” according to a poll from Gallup, even as only 40% of independents and 18% of Republicans say the same. The survey also found that 52% of women agree companies should take public stands on political and social issues against only 43% of men.
“Many companies have struggled to determine if, and how, they should address significant social and cultural issues,” Gallup remarked, noting events such as the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the death of George Floyd.
The reason for the vast disparity in responses to the survey should be obvious. Democrats and liberals want companies to publicly affirm their wokeness so they can immediately organize boycotts against any company found guilty of thought crimes or wrong-speak. Get on board with The Narrative or face their wrath and lose your business. Conservatives and more than half of independents who aren’t going to have their opinions shaped by someone who manufactures their favorite sneakers would prefer that the CEOs keep their thoughts to themselves and concentrate on their jobs.
It doesn’t matter to the left how any given company is actually managing its own policies and practices. Let’s say your big issue is racial “diversity” in hiring. Even a company that already has a significantly diverse workforce won’t be free from these demands. Unless they come out and publicly pledge themselves to the left and, more importantly, condemn anyone the left has identified as an enemy, they’ll still be heading for the chopping block
This is not only undesirable, but it doesn’t even make any sense. It’s worth pointing out that companies are not homogenous entities. Any of the larger corporations have large numbers of employees, frequently located in different areas. They obviously don’t all share the same opinion on every topic. So if Nike, for example, declares that they are in favor of abolishing the police, that doesn’t mean that every Nike worker feels that way. Their unions may try to speak for them and force them to pay money that will go into the coffers of a political party they don’t support, but it’s insulting to think that the people in the top office speak for all of them.
It’s no wonder that more and more companies are learning from the mistakes of their competitors and keeping their noses out of the political maelstrom. That’s because the blade can cut in both directions. If they stick to their own business, most people will simply judge them by the quality of the goods or services they produce. But publicly taking sides with the left can cost them also. Yes, “get woke, go broke” is a real thing, and smart executives know it.
That brings us back to the percentages in the survey linked above. There are a lot more people in America who either don’t care about or don’t want to hear about a given company’s “position” on all of these divisive subjects. If you have to lose one part of your customer base either way, which would you choose? I’d venture to say that you could afford to lose the woke brigade more easily than the rest of the market.
