Thomas Cole, '75, On Corporate America and Black Lives Matter
One Capitalist Response to Black Lives Matter
A number of leading capitalists assert that our economic system is “frayed” (Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase), “broken” (Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates) and even “dead” (Marc Benioff, founder of Salesforce). As a result, there has been a resurgence in corporate focus on “stakeholders” and not just “shareholders” — most notably reflected in the Business Roundtable (BRT) “Statement on the Purpose of the Corporation” released last year. In that statement, the leaders of nearly 200 of the most important U.S. corporations expressed their commitment to communities, as well as other stakeholders.
Then came the horrific death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis. Since then, many companies have joined the chorus supporting Black Lives Matter, some asserting a commitment not just to oppose racism but to be “anti-racist.”
The reaction from activists has generally taken the tone of “actions speak louder than words.” Some responses have been harsher and more cynical in tone. One leading academic recently published a study summarized in The Wall Street Journal with the headline “‘Stakeholder’ Capitalism Seems Mostly for Show.” And, if you Google “corporate pronouncements about BLM”, the first related search provided by the search engine is “companies pandering to BLM.” And then a scoffing about “virtue signaling.”
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