I love the ruthless critique Scott Galloway levels against ESG investing. The clarity pierces.
When capital and ideals clash, capital smothers ideals in their sleep.
Prof. Scott Galloway – from “Mammon” – posted December 1, 2023
Here are a few excerpts:
We are always ready, and want, to believe that this time it’s different, we will do good while making billions. …. Succumbing to this siren call, we abdicated our responsibility… believing instead that one profit-seeking entity could cajole another profit-seeking entity to seek something else.
The danger bigger than usurious fees is that we don’t invest in the democratic institutions focused on preventing a tragedy of the commons, because we believe “market solutions” can handle carbon emissions and forced labor.
the one power we the people possess that’s equal to capital: democracy. It’s not up to each of us to protect the commonwealth, it’s up to all of us.
As a person of faith, I feel fortunate that I get to ask a different set of questions. I believe in god. I believe in a higher power — and in pursuit of eternal life, I can chose to give myself in service — to love my neighbor as myself.
How do I accompany my brother Caliste in Cuba, my sister Laura in Porto Velho, my indigenous cousin Alejandro in Chiapas, and my neighbors Greg, Molly, and Tony here where I live?
It’s a question I’m asking myself each day as I listen to each of their burdens and struggles. As I hear what they’re wrestling with, I try to enter and get curious about their reality.
Then I wonder: what is mine to do? Where do I make a decision to try to bring others into relationship? When do I respond and make calls?
When do I just allow their suffering to become my own?
I’m reminded of Pope Francis here:
Our goal is not to amass information or to satisfy curiosity, but rather to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it.
Laudato Si, paragraph 19
Then in that suffering — I am reminded of my gifts, the privilege of the relationships I have, and the ambition I have… the desire to contribute.
As I forge ahead, I’m reminded to also ask myself to be cognizant of not thinking too big.
When am I being seduced by a siren call?
For right now, I’m just grateful for this powerfully critical style of Prof G — to spark this thinking