We live in a time when society has never been richer, thanks to the constant innovation that capitalism has brought about..Capitalism has done away with backbreaking farm work, increased crop yields to feed a growing population and life expectancy has increased from an average of 35 years during pre-industrial England to 80 years of age in 2023..A free market economy has increased the standard of living for its citizens and made it possible for a majority to live the lifestyles that not too long ago belonged to kings and queens..One would think this would be a cause for celebration for how lucky we all are as the capitalist goose continues to lay golden eggs..But the opposite is happening with some of society’s most powerful and highest-paid people assiduously working from within the system to transform a market economy based on competition and meritocracy into woke cronyism. .One of the greatest intellectuals of the 20th century, economist Joseph Schumpeter, is best known for the concept of creative destruction, where the new is replacing the old through innovation in the marketplace that ultimately leads to a higher standard of living. .Schumpeter predicted that capitalism would become a victim of its success..As society becomes wealthier due to the mass production of goods, the big corporation that seeks monopoly power will replace the entrepreneur..Prosperity will also give rise to a modern discontented intellectual class of people who avoid manual work and earn a living through the dissemination of ideas and the written word..They condemn capitalism every step of the way and view its support as illogical and anti-social. .Schumpeter wrote: "The man who has gone through university becomes psychically unemployable in manual occupations without necessarily acquiring employability in professional work. They swell the host of intellectuals and numbers increase disproportionately."."They enter it in a thoroughly discontented frame of mind. Discontent breeds resentment." .Today that intellectual discontent has made its way into the corporate boardroom with the biggest and wealthiest capitalists embracing woke culture..Jamie Dimon, the CEO of America's largest bank, JP Morgan Chase has warned the American dream is frying: “Capitalism must be modified to do a better job of creating a healthier society, one that is inclusive and creates more opportunity for more people," he declares..Billionaire Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, has stated, “Everything must evolve or die. This is true of capitalism.”.Billionaire CEO of Salesforce, Marc Benioff, advocates higher taxes for high-income individuals to generate trillions of dollars to improve education, healthcare and fight climate change..At the World Economic Forum rich people galore from investors, actors and everyone else under the sun released a letter titled, Millionaires Against Pitchforks which called for higher taxes on millionaires and billionaires. .One of the most powerful CEOs, BlackRock’s Larry Fink who oversees $10 trillion in assets and coerces companies to accept ESG requirements, negatively impacting shareholder returns, says, “Stakeholder capitalism is not about politics. It's not woke. It is capitalism.” .With such an all-star lineup of who's who in finance who needs Marx to direct a revolution?.In Canada, the woke agenda is nicely disguised through government policy and practiced without much fanfare..A breeding ground for left-wing politics is TDSB (Toronto District School Board). They removed Shakespeare and Dickens from their grade 11 English curriculum and replaced two of the greatest writers in Western history with a course on Indigenous authors..The board could not tolerate the idea that students should be allowed to think for themselves and choose what they want to study. .Recently school principal, Richard Bilkszto, decided to sue the TDSB for failing to defend him after a hostile Diversity Equity Inclusion training session..During the session, its trainer and CEO, Kike Ojo-Thompson argued that Canada is a more racist place than the US by saying that Canada is a bastion of "white supremacy and colonialism” and capitalism and patriarchy are killing people..The school principal disagreed and the trainer insinuated he is a white supremacist..Bilkszto has been a school principal for 24 years and taught in Buffalo's inner city and knows a thing or two about racism, but the DEI trainer went ahead and berated him..To add fuel to the fire, the next day Bilkszto was given the fifth degree by his management for his male white privilege and insulted even further. It should be noted the trainer’s client list includes the CBC, the federal government and universities. .The tide has begun to turn with the Bud Light marketing fiasco demonstrating that if one continues to insult everyday working people long enough it will kick start a boycott..Singer Kid Rock produced a video of himself shooting Bud Light cans with a machine gun and from there, a backlash started with sales of Bud Light down 31% from last year and it is no longer America’s favourite brew..The New York Times reported some retailers are selling cases of Bud Light for less than a case of bottled water. .Consumers Research is a conservative nonprofit, that targets woke companies and goes after their brands and credibility..They are using hard-hitting 30-second spots, airing on national cable and local markets treating companies the way a political candidate would an opponent..The ads tear to shreds the hypocrisies behind the woke facade, one dealing with Nike’s embracing woke quarterback Colin Kaepernick stated, “Rather than hiring Americans, Nike chose China.”.Another ad targets American Airlines, “Why is CEO Doug Parker trying to appease the radical left? To distract from the billions in taxpayer bailouts, from his $10 million payday and from American’s record layoff.”.CEOs are beginning to realize there is a cost to becoming political and the damage done is to the company's bottom line..Schumpeter felt the only way to save a free market economy was for people to “man the pumps” and stand up for the capitalist ship so that it can stay afloat, philosophically and ideologically, by building a stronger foundation..That foundation is more fragile than ever as the wealthiest capitalists are subverting the system from within and making themselves rulers..Maybe it is time to implement a billionaire wealth tax targeting woke CEOs' total assets..Once these privileged elites realize a greater chunk of their money will be handed over to the government to redistribute and administer more fanciful woke programs, they will wake up to reality and get back to doing their jobs: leading their corporations, protecting their brands and working on behalf of their customers, employees, and shareholders..Hitting them over the head with their wallets may be the only way to prevent them from killing off the golden goose.
