Anyone entertaining hopes that planet Earth might escape the insanity of 2020 without any more mind-blowing stories may wish to fasten their seatbelts for a hard landing.
At a time when a global pandemic has swept away millions of jobs, and transformed a handful of global capitalists from ‘merely wealthy’ to fantastically wealthy overnight, Pope Francis has decided to take sides in this epic battle. Any hunches what side that might be? Hint: much like the Vatican, it is immensely wealthy, influential, and acts like a government unto itself.
Yes, you guessed it. Instead of the poor and destitute – you know, ‘the meek who shall inherit the earth’ rigmarole – taking their rightful place alongside the Pope to fight against globalization on steroids, the Vatican has announced it will form a “historic partnership” with big business, known as the Council for Inclusive Capitalism. You can’t make this stuff up. And make no mistake: this is no mere talk shop, but rather a vast undertaking that involves“more than $10.5 trillion in assets under management, companies with over $2.1 trillion of market capitalization, and 200 million workers in more than 163 countries.”
“Capitalism has created enormous global prosperity, but it has also left too many people behind, led to the degradation of our planet, and is not widely trusted in society,” said Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Founder of the Council and Managing Partner of Inclusive Capital Partners. “This council will follow the warning from Pope Francis to listen to ‘the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor’ and answer society’s demands for a more equitable and sustainable model of growth.”
In other words, in an apparent act of divine intervention, the Rothschild family (whose wealth is estimated at $20 billion, although nobody really knows for sure), together with other famous brand names of globalization, such as the Rockefellers and Mastercard, will now take up the standard for the world’s downtrodden. Who will be the first one to hold their breath?
I tried to contain my skepticism, I really did, until I read a bit deeper into this contract between the Catholic Church and corporate power. Any guesses as to who will ensure the corporate chieftains live up to their end of the bargain?
Known as the Guardians for Inclusive Capitalism – I kid you not – these 27 devout and morally outstanding individuals all hail from the golden one percent. Let’s call them the Pope’s 27 billionaire disciples. Really outstanding people, such as President of the Rockefeller Foundation Rajiv Shah, CEO of Mastercard Ajay Banga, and CEO of Salesforce Marc Benioff, will now behave like Good Samaritans, carrying out the will of the Holy See around a ravaged, lockdown-wearied planet. And here is the catch: there is not a single Vatican cardinal or even a deacon on the list of Guardians. So, who will guard over the guardians? Yes, the corporate elite themselves! They must have read Donald Trump’s ‘The Art of the Deal’.
My initial skepticism shot into overdrive when it became clear what acts of charity the council would promote: “The Guardians will hold themselves accountable, committing to a list of intended actions involving environmental, social and governance matters,” Forbes reported. “The Guardians … have said they plan to hire and promote more women, increase diversity hires, commit to clean energy by purchasing 100% renewable electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions…” Yada, yada, yada.
Forgive me, Father, but that sounds an awful lot like the controversial progressive platform being touted by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris that has divided the United States down the middle. In other words, this unholy marriage has already alienated at least one half of the US population, who fear a Biden presidency will herald in an age of socialism in America. Meanwhile, it is hardly reassuring that these profit-driven individuals will be allowed to “hold themselves accountable” to take on unspecified “social and governance matters” and “other initiatives,” whatever those happen to be.
The reason for suspicion should be obvious. Aside from the absurdity of letting profit-driven corporations play guardian over themselves, we are now living in a time when these out-of-control behemoths are no longer content to just hawk their products to consumers; they have taken a serious stand on cultural and political issues, which many people find unacceptable yet must bear silently with a smile.
Using their profits from consumer spending, corporations such as Coca-Cola can run an extremely controversial Sprite advertisement campaign, for example, that promotes a transgender lifestyle and that will be seen by millions of impressionable children. Or how about Gillette’s massively disappointing (and disliked) commercial that took issue with so-called ‘toxic masculinity.’ Are these the “other initiatives” that corporations will be forcing on an unsuspecting public with the stamp of papal authority? Personally, I’ve never heard Pope Francis speak out against these extremely provocative ideas.
Perhaps even more worrying is that many companies, compelled to prove they are taking a stand on behalf of the latest cause célèbre, have enthusiastically jumped aboard the Black Lives Matter juggernaut, which critics – of which there is no shortage, even among the black American population – say works to the disadvantage of other races, not least white Americans, who have become the bane of Western civilization overnight.
Is this the sort of ‘equality’ big business will be promoting with the quiet blessing of the Vatican? In their woke bid to become more ‘equal and diverse,’ will corporations begin to promote particular groups of people at the expense of others? After all, the Trump administration was just forced to take executive action against ‘critical race theory’ inside the government, while academia is now rampant with lectures teaching the evils of the ignoble white man. Are we on the precipice of a new age of racism in the United States and elsewhere, where the historic tables are turned with the help of corporate America?
Although Pope Francis may have the best intentions at heart in promoting this sort of dialogue between the Vatican and the corporate world, unless there is real involvement by the Church to rein in corporate power, it will become a wasted opportunity in very short order.
The Council for Inclusive Capitalism is nothing more and nothing less than a cynical PR stunt for corporate power that allows their controversial initiatives, heavily steeped in the rapacious accumulation of profit, as well as the promotion of dangerous ‘woke’ values, to win the seal of approval from one of the most powerful religious authorities on the planet.
Such a program really amounts to an act of mindless virtue-signaling from the Catholic Church, which has fallen out of favor of late, and a cheap opportunity for the corporate world to conceal its behavior behind the shroud of morality and saintliness. It would have been far more effective and symbolic had Pope Francis committed himself to a contract with the people, with his true followers, in the fight against corporate power. Instead, he made a pact with the devil.
Pope Francis Partners With Corporate Titans To Make Capitalism More Inclusive And Fair: Is This For Real Or Just Corporate Virtue Signaling?
(Angelo Carconi/Pool Photo via AP)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pope Francis, aware of the fast-growing global wealth inequality between the ultra-wealthy and the rest of society, has proposed a challenge to corporate executives and public sector leaders to adopt a more inclusive, fair and transparent economic system that is equipped to address the dire challenges plaguing humanity and Earth.
“The world is rich, and yet the number of poor people is swelling all around us,” said Pope Francis. With the increasing wealth inequality, the pope pointed to the current challenges facing humanity, “Hundreds of millions of people are struggling in extreme poverty, and are lacking food, housing, healthcare, schooling, electricity, and drinkable water.
In response to the pope’s exhortation, business and public sector leaders formed an historic partnership with the Vatican. The Council for Inclusive Capitalism will serve as a movement to address the economic and environmental needs of the planet and its inhabitants. The council “boasts over more than $10.5 trillion in assets under management, companies with over $2.1 trillion of market capitalization and 200 million workers in over 163 countries.”
It should be noted that these extremely wealthy executives are not adversaries of capitalism, citing that the system has helped billions of people abscond poverty. However, the group acknowledges that capitalism has perilously left people behind, while also taking a toll on the planet. Ultimately, the partnership calls for a moral redress.
The “Guardians,” as the council members are called, are top executives of the world’s leading corporations who have promised to take bold actions toward creating inclusive capitalism. The Guardians will hold themselves accountable, committing to a list of intended actions involving environmental, social and governance matters. The Guardians, at their respective companies, have said they plan to hire and promote more women, increase diversity hires, commit to clean energy by purchasing 100% renewable electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote the reuse and recycling of water and other initiatives.
The list of Guardians is lengthy and continues to grow. Here are some examples of the business leaders who have joined this mission:
- Ajay Banga, president and CEO, Mastercard
- Oliver Bäte, chairman of the board of management, Allianz SE
- Marc Benioff, chair, CEO, and founder, Salesforce
- Edward Breen, executive chairman, Dupont
- Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, founder and managing partner, Inclusive Capital Partners
- Kenneth Frazier, chairman of the board and CEO, Merck
- Alex Gorsky, chairman of the board and CEO, Johnson & Johnson
- Alfred Kelly, chairman and CEO, Visa
- William Lauder, executive chairman, Estée Lauder
- Bernard Looney, CEO, BP
- Brian Moynihan, chairman of the board and CEO, Bank of America
- Ronald P. O’Hanley, president and CEO, State Street Corporation
- Rajiv Shah, president, the Rockefeller Foundation
According to the New York Times, “There are reasons to be both hopeful and skeptical of the initiative. The corporate pledges are meaningful, but some aren’t new: BP, for example, restates a commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 that it announced in February. And while the council has posted the pledges publicly, there’s not much to hold the companies accountable (aside from the risk of disappointing the pope).”
While we applaud the people who try to make the world a better place, there is an irony that can’t be ignored. The same people who are calling for an end to wealth and income inequality are extraordinarily wealthy. Of course, the noted leaders like capitalism, it’s been very good to them.
According to Forbes, Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, is worth nearly $90 billion. William Lauder, the executive chairman of Estée Lauder, has a net worth of $3.5 billion.
Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, the founder and managing partner of Inclusive Capital Partners, has her own wealth, but is also married to Sir Evelyn De Rothschild. He is the scion of one of world’s wealthiest family dynasties and is estimated to be worth $20 billion.
According to salary.com, Ajay Banga, the CEO of Mastercard, earned $23.2 million in total compensation for 2019. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan reaped $25.4 million in total compensation for 2019. These numbers don’t include any accumulated stock that they may own in their respective companies or their entire net worth.
There is nothing wrong with the Guardians being in the top 1%. However, these business leaders are the people that the pope points to when he calls out wealth inequality. Their massive wealth begs the question, since they have the financial means, why aren’t they personally leading by example? Why not write a large personal check, without claiming it as a tax write-off? When their corporations take actions, the monies don’t come out of the pockets of the executives, but are indirectly supported by the shareholders.
The wealthy elites could consider getting their own houses in order before trying to change the world. The CEOs are able to ask for and accept significantly less compensation and wave all of their stock options and lavish bonuses. They could certainly live on a $5 million salary and the other $20 million could be shared with their workers. Instead of accumulating all of the stock options, the executives should offer them to their employees, so that they have equity in their companies.
The titans of industry have the power to provide enhanced health insurance, additional vacation days, flexible work schedules, pensions, access to mental health resources and longer maternity and paternity leave. Who will be the first CEO to step down and replace himself with a person of color or woman?
The Guardians can exert peer pressure on fellow industry chief executive officers. They could ask Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai and others to relinquish the fortunes they’ve accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic and redistribute it to this initiative.
The glaring concern is that this partnership ends up as a public relations bonanza for the executives involved. They’ll bask in the glory of favorable media attention and virtue signal how wonderful and caring they all are. I’ll follow up in the New Year to report their progress—if any.