Words matter. We’ve heard that truism lately regarding hate speech and insurrection oratory. Science backs it up.
Interviewed by Scientific American, Lera Boroditsky, a cognitive scientist at the University of California, San Diego, confirmed that “words have power. We can drastically change someone’s perspective by how we choose to talk about and frame something.”
A current example is the word “woke.” Merriam-Webster defines it as “aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues.” That’s a good thing, but Republicans have appropriated the word and tried to turn it into an insult.
Officials in Florida and Texas recently took steps to keep state investment-funds managers from using woke ESG principles. In Texas, the beef is investment policies that exclude fossil fuels in alignment with the worldwide effort to stop the pollution that causes climate change. Financial analysts say these developments have a chilling effect on Wall Street’s attention to ESG...........
It will be fascinating to watch Republicans try to square their assault on “woke capitalism” with their traditional opposition to government meddling in business. Perhaps they should go back to these first principles:
Investors should be guided by their values
Markets rather than Congress should pick winners
Investment managers should do what’s best for their clients
Politicians should stay out of it
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3743104-actually-its-good-to-be-woke/
