It’s been a big week for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) advocates in the US. McDonalds joined a growing list of global corporations rolling back their DEI policies. Kamala Harris, who became Vice President explicitly based on her skin color and the fact that she is a woman, certified her own defeat in last year’s Presidential election. As wildfires ravage the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country, extra scrutiny follows the decisions by LA Mayor Karen Bass to divert funds from the city’s fire department to DEI programs mere months ago. While Democrats cry foul of the so-called ‘politicization’ of the ongoing tragedy, the court of public opinion rules against this latest iteration of Marxist social theory.
What is DEI?
DEI takes its root from the maxim that inspired Karl Marx to enunciate his flawed answer to the ills of the world. “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need”. A nice theory but in practice, this philosophy actively suppresses and discourages self-actualization while encouraging low performance and self-obsession. Marx implemented the idea by arguing in favor of identity politics. The bourgeoisie must be destroyed, he wrote, because they have more than the proletariat.
This idea has gone through many iterations in the last 200 years but it is currently expressed in terms of race, sex and gender, and sometimes even ability. DEI pervades everything from justifying reparations to black people in California (which, by the way, was never even a slave state) even to arguing against legal immigration. The idea that immutable characteristics define a person’s relative worth belong to the annals of history along with the rest of Marx’s poorly written tirades. Fortunately, the 2020s are putting DEI to rest.
Cracks in DEI
As the status quo has come under increasing pressure from a skeptical public, so too has the theory underpinning DEI. The death of George Floyd in 2020 kicked off the ‘Summer of Love’. As carnage abounded and Covid restrictions did not apply to Black Lives Matter (BLM) rioters, public perception shifted. When a reporter stands in front of a burning police station and calls it the result of a “mostly peaceful protest”, it does harm the credibility of the underlying movement. Authenticity is key to effective messaging.
Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist, touts his 100% record of defeating corporate DEI programs. It was largely his work that led to the McDonald’s announcement earlier this week. Matt Walsh, conservative commentator and provocateur, weighed in on the topic last year too.
Fresh off his successful documentary debut, ‘What Is A Woman?’, Walsh released ‘Am I Racist?’ in September. It instantly became the top grossing documentary of the year and largely ended the careers of DEI advocates like Saira Rao and Robin DiAngelo. It’s worth noting that his method exclusively involved turning on a camera and following direction from the likes of Rao and DiAngelo.
More cracks
The scandals surrounding ‘How To Be Anti-Racist’ author, Ibram X Kendi in 2023 did not help the cause. Kendi accepted more than $40M in donations yet provided no research through his Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University. This controversy, of course, mirrors the financial scandals that previously mired the BLM organization. Perhaps I’m not the only one who struggled to finish reading The Communist Manifesto.
In increasing numbers, legal judgments and settlements also dismantle the stranglehold of DEI on society. In 2023, the Supreme Court made affirmative action (a trendier term than anti-meritocracy) all but illegal in the two cases brought by Students For Fair Admissions. More recently, out-of-court settlements like Vlaming and Geraghty continue the pressure.
This week’s wildfires in Los Angeles is just the latest example of the biggest reason for public skepticism: the fact that it simply does not work. The US is famously performance-driven as a country. The attempt by a movement of Marx-inspired grifters to change the country’s entire personality was always destined to fail – much like the DEI hires they promote. As the fires spread, so too does news of local and state policies in recent months. In short, Californian tax dollars are not helping all Californians, just the supposedly disadvantaged ones. It’s anyone’s guess how America’s top 1% will react now that these policies have literally cost them everything they own.
What’s next for DEI?
My advice for DEI advocates is to stop digging. The time is up. The underpinning theory of DEI is inherently inauthentic. The best way forward for society is obviously not to reward immutable characteristics. This inauthenticity means it can never effectively promulgate over an extended period of time. In fact, the only way to keep up the pretence that it is in any way valid is to push it back underground. The current Vice President and one of the most recent former Presidents are both from ‘disadvantaged’ communities. There is no way to make DEI an authentic message without seriously altering the message or gaslighting the public. The latter, of course, is the option in use since 2008.
For the opponents of DEI, it is important to keep up the pressure. Trump’s re-election is widely seen as a societal tipping point, but it’s important to finish the job. Public opinion has turned against DEI but constant and consistent targeting of the weaknesses of DEI will confirm its collapse. Once it collapses in the US, it will, of course, crumble around the world. The most important thing, then, will be to make sure that it is replaced by an authentic, coherent, and intellectually plausible worldview.
