Let’s separate the facts from the fiction with respect to the damage caused by wokism.

Woke, which includes ESG, DEI, climate change, and other wasteful, misguided and discriminatory initiatives, has caused billions and probably trillions of dollars in damages in the U.S.

Woke is a creation of the Marxist Left. After failing to gain traction through labor in the U.S. over many years, the Marxist Left turned to the issue of race and expanded into other areas under the umbrella of wokism to secure power and influence.

Woke gained prominence in the U.S. with the ascension of Barack Obama to the presidency following the 2008 election. Joe Biden supported woke programs during his presidency.

As wokism grew from about 2008 to the present, many U.S. corporations jumped on the woke bandwagon. Woke impacted U.S. corporations with respect to the composition of boards, leadership, and hiring of employees. Woke influenced corporate investment decisions and the development of products. In short, woke spread through corporations in the U.S., while merit, a solid basis for success, was relegated to the scrap heap and considered a dirty word. Fortunately, with Donald Trump back in the White House, the detrimental qualities and evils of woke are being revealed and merit is taking a leading position, but not before woke caused considerable damage.

The list of U.S. corporations that took actions based on woke, and failed completely, have performed poorly, have received negative exposure, decided to change policy or given consideration thereto, retreated from certain actions, had to reverse course to limit further damage, or were hurt directly or indirectly in some manner, is long and growing. No industry is immune from the damage of woke as it runs across sectors such as energy, automotive, financial services, technology, retail, beverage, industrial equipment, and consulting.

The damage caused by woke is not limited to U.S. corporations. Federal, state, and local governments in the U.S. are not immune to the detrimental impact imparted by their taking of actions based on woke. In a short period of time, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has uncovered billions of dollars in Left-supported wasteful spending by the federal government and its agencies on woke programs. In time, I believe the amounts DOGE will uncover will grow substantially. Interestingly, while the Left claims to want to cut wasteful spending in government, they are fighting back against the cutting of excesses identified by DOGE. For years the Left has used government assets as a kind of slush fund to support their woke programs, while at the same time financially benefiting themselves and their benefactors. The DOGE disclosures are revealing the use of taxpayer dollars to support their woke programs.

One can only wonder about the many beneficial ways the wasteful corporate and government woke spending could have been otherwise used to help these entities and their employees as well as the U.S. in general. Had these funds not been wastefully spent, the federal deficit would be substantially smaller and the need for the U.S. to borrow would have been lessened.

Beyond the financial damage imposed by woke is the negative effect on the performance of corporations and governments in the U.S. as well as the country as a whole. While U.S. corporations as well as federal, state, and local governments in the U.S were hiring on woke (through DEI) and not on merit, these corporations and governments were not employing the best and the brightest, thereby hurting these corporations and governments as well as U.S. national security and the country in its entirety. Do you think Russia and China, our two main adversaries, were hiring based on woke?

This does not even address the detrimental impact that wokism has had on a generation of Americans who were denied rightful employment, to the benefit of the less qualified, due to woke. These people will never recover what they lost.

Of course, the harmful consequences of woke are further increased when you consider that many organizations, educational institutions, unincorporated businesses, and other entities in the U.S. took actions based on woke.

While leaders of corporations, government agencies, and other entities in the U.S. will try to legally shield themselves with the claim that their actions and expenses were within their judgment and utilize other defenses making a legal action challenging, the responsible parties should be held accountable for their misdeeds.

Perry V. Kalajian is an attorney, consultant, analyst, and national television personality.

Image: JoslynLM