‘Sometimes, the facts don’t matter’: Attack on DEI is a war against capitalism on American prosperity
Few three-letter words have divided our country more than DEI—formerly known as diversity, equity, and inclusion. DEI has embroiled America in a devastating civil war, and is tearing our nation apart. Devoted warriors on both sides of the debate passionately assert their cause, willing to sacrifice time and effort to preserve or suppress the DEI’s cause, in many senses the promotion of black American representation.
Since the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, several phrases related to helping Black people have come under heavy fire, such as: “Woke” and “Black Lives Matter.” “DEI” is no exception, although statistics in many areas show that non-Blacks have benefited more from DEI programs than blacks. Sometimes, facts don’t matter. Research shows that America would be much better off economically if racial barriers against black people were eliminated. Sometimes, even money doesn’t matter.
But words matter. Words evoke emotional meaning based on their association. Imagine someone who hates “Obamacare” but loves the Affordable Care Act or telling the government to keep its hands off their money but accept their monthly Social Security check.
It is said that if you want people to listen to you, you must speak their language. The language of American business leadership and national prosperity is capitalism. DEI is a capitalist tool to increase income and wealth unfairly. Increased fairness results in increased employee engagement. Increased employee engagement leads to greater innovation, productivity, and profitability.
Sadly, in America, DEI’s attackers fall prey to the deceptively seductive and troubling power of the oppressive mentality—tactics designed to protect superiority by erecting and maintaining competition-based barriers to opportunity under the false assumption of a cashless world. Depersonalization is one of the first race-based tactics used successfully in this regard.
The dehumanization associated with chat slavery was necessary to remedy its oppression and cruelty to those who benefited from it. Although slavery was abolished, the goals of black discrimination continued through Jim Crow laws and state-sponsored domestic terrorism.
Dehumanization is a subtle, persuasive, and divisive tool because it provides racial pride that can provide a powerful boost of self-esteem, even for non-elite members of a racial group. At the same time, as the research of Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker suggests, the tendency of white non-elite people to internalize this virtue means that they will defend themselves when threatened. That self-defense produces resentment and hatred so strong that people are willing to sacrifice their economic self-interest to support the racial oppression of Black people.
Ironically, white non-elite people and Black people have more in common than non-elite white people have in common with their elite counterparts. They face many of the same social and economic challenges, apart from race.
The idea that Black people might benefit from DEI programs has caused concern, controversy, conflict, fear, and resentment. When a person is used to and feels they deserve a pie, even a crumb to the hungry can ease the pain of loss.
The word “justice” has never been associated with Black people in America. Corporate America has an opportunity to free itself from the demonic “DEI” to basic fairness for all of humanity, not just one isolated group. Instead of killing DEI departments because of the false narrative that DEI only helps Black people, corporate America should show leadership and a fiduciary duty to stakeholders by explaining that DEI is a framework meant to help move forward in an often vague, often ambiguous sense of fairness. it will improve business engagement, productivity, profitability, and American economic prosperity.
Race-based barriers to opportunity have cost the US economy more than $50 billion since 1990. Demolition could generate five trillion dollars in just a few years. Improving employee engagement generates innovation and productivity that can generate business profits of $550 billion annually. The benefits that fairness can bring to companies and the US GDP should be given the full attention of corporate boards, CEOs, CFOs, elected officials, and policymakers.
Justice is a matter of national wealth and security that cannot and should not be ignored. It is the most patriotic form of capitalism—but it is obscured by semantics and linguistic nuances. If we can speak the same language and get on the same page, the way forward is close.
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