Unfettered Capitalism and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Cannot Coexist
Values for homogeneity, preference, and exclusion will dominate until beliefs are made to change
When I think of the coexistence of values and beliefs, Costa Rica comes to mind. In 1987, Costa Rica won a Nobel Peace Prize for giving up its military in favor of funding a commitment to the environment. The seriousness of their regard for biodiversity goes even deeper though. While considering building a house there, I found rules dictating how much of your land must remain green space (gardens, trees, etc). Now, that’s putting your values where your beliefs reside, making me wonder why in the U.S. the value for human diversity is less serious and far less intentional.
“The loss and degradation of biodiversity negatively affect every level of the planet,” says Accion’s “Sustainability for all” website, “especially the poor and vulnerable women, children and indigenous people…”
The answer to that question is heart-wrenchingly obvious! Unfettered capitalism leads to, as Karl Marx, an admirer of capitalism’s successes, observed, inhumane treatment of the working class, poor, and society’s most vulnerable. An observation shared, in 2015, by Pope Francis, who called unfettered global capitalism the “dung of the devil.” Indeed, our stewardship of the world’s resources, including humans, has, since the dawn of the Industrial Age, been found abhorrent by many.
You can’t drink the devil’s juice and say you deny the devil
Back when I’d go home for Thanksgiving, I’d usually find myself saying two things to my mom: I came to see you not celebrate the holiday (something I still do not do), and I don’t eat turkey (I still don’t eat meat). Still, I smile thinking about how she’d still try to convince me to just have a little stuffing. Now my mom was a great cook, known especially for her soft fluffy dinner rolls. And I didn’t like disappointing her. Yet, I did not relent, as her stuffing was always baked inside of the turkey. “Well I guess if you drink the devil’s juices you might as well eat the devil.” she’d say.
Those who live in countries whose values for unfettered capitalism suckled the devil’s juices and continue to be nourished.
- U.S. financiers and financial institutions aligned themselves with France and Denmark to bully and extort Haiti, indebting that country for decades because enslaved people demanded freedom (while plantation owners got reparations for their loss of property); wealth amassment remains a part of the nation’s foundation.
- Corporations and profiteers who rode the coattails of Belgium’s Butcher of the Congo (King Leopold II) via genocidal resource plundering of the Congo where over 20 million people died building the fortunes of other nations, including the U.S.
So many “winnings”
To those who say, that was then, this is now, I offer the universe does not work that way. All that happened before brings us the lives we live today. That is how the economics of generational wealth-building work. The story of the gambler who repented after years of enriching himself by any means necessary comes to mind.
One day, to his fellow poker players, he admitted he’d been cheating them for years. Their reaction surprised him. There was little rancor and no riot. Some said they simply thought he was just better than they were. Others saw beating him as a challenge. And some saw his constant winning as preordained. His reply was only, “And I promise never to do it again.” To which all in the room accepted gratefully. Except for one player, who asked, “Now that we know you will not lie and cheat us anymore, what will you do with all your winnings?”
Consciousness bonds values with beliefs
Resource allocation and power sharing are at the heart of any refutation of diversity, equity, and inclusion, whether people admit it or not. The debate raises difficult questions. What will you do with the assets you discover on someone else’s land? Will that last crust of bread or fish be hoarded or shared? And what about that job you want that someone else has, or someone else got? What parts of a good Samaritan’s ethic can be found in you? These questions, and more, challenge us to reconcile our beliefs in and values for diversity, equity, and inclusion. They put in the glaring spotlight our baser instincts, making our commitments much more than an ideological consideration.
Through this lens, in some places, the belief of many when I was a college president was that I pushed diversity on them. It was an emotional response that should have been better anticipated. Especially given that I, myself, brought diversity to that majority White institution. The response of many to my hiring more diverse candidates was visceral, not the advancement of a mutually agreed upon strategic planning goal.
Values demand action, beliefs - not so much
The Pew Research Center (May 8, 2019) sheds light on this dilemma. Despite “Broad support for workplace diversity…most say applicants’ race and ethnicity should not be a factor in hiring and promotions.” the differences between the major political parties regarding workplace diversity are dramatic. 64% of Democrats and 29% of Republicans believe that workplace diversity should be promoted within workplaces. However when we consider both party’s regard for making these beliefs actionable, should beliefs in diversity impact hiring decisions, the “majorities of both groups, ninety percent (90%) for Republicans and sixty-two percent (62%) for Democrats” say no. The gulf between beliefs and values dooms many when decisions bring diversity to most workplaces.
Even when education, a very precious resource, is considered, the disparity between values and beliefs for diversity remains. “Most whites (62%) say students should attend schools in their local community, even if most schools are less diverse as a result. In contrast, about seven in ten Blacks (68%) think students should go to schools that are racially and ethnically mixed, even if they’re not in their local community.” Hispanics and Asians are about evenly divided on this issue.
Al Fin
In each of my roles in higher education (director, dean, vice president, and president) achieving measurable commitments towards a greater value for diversity, equity, and inclusion was the opportunity I sought and the challenge I endured. However, as they say, sometimes when you poke the bear the bear bites. Misjudging the gulf between beliefs and values was my greatest blind spot. Seeing that gulf as a function of what Malcolm Gladwell calls our adaptive consciousness (Blink, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Back Bay Books, 2007) has been enlightening.
It’s the adaptive consciousness, that reactionary regard for what we perceive as threats, preventing many from aligning their beliefs and values. Their adaptive consciousness yields both to a powerful, and fallible, need to control their environments. For them, diversity is a threat to their power. Equity inspires xenophobic fears rather than enlightens any potential for benefit. They find comfort in homogeneity and familiarity rather than extending themselves to the inclusion the world around them invites.
Such are the challenges Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion activists, advocates, and cheerleaders face. The latest top-down roll-back of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, policies, programs, and firing of staff stand as only the tip of a dogma brought by Europeans to the shores of the so-called New World. Dogma that forms the foundation of Project 2025 beliefs and values.
Aligning beliefs and values was monumental for Costa Rica. The strength of rectitude and bold risk-taking that was demanded was gargantuan. The same will be true for those in the United States who value and believe in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Erasing and replacing the country’s foundational beliefs in, and values for, homogeneity, preference, and exclusion will require (as Germany, Japan, and South Africa have tried to do) the courage of conviction; the patience of Job; John Henry’s perseverance, and Herculean strength. Many shoulders will be needed to turn this ship around, as well as leaders who bring values and beliefs in stewardship deserving Grace.
“A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.”
— Sentiments attributed to Mahatma Gandhi
For more stories about politics and oppression in the U.S. and around the world, follow Fourth Wave. Have you got a story or poem that focuses on women or other targeted groups? Submit to the Wave!
