2023-12-08 08:00:00
Is Wokism a fad of American activists and sociology professors or a fundamental movement that is transforming our societies? The setbacks of Disney in California argue for the first of these answers. The illustrious studios had pulled out all the stops in recent years to show the extent to which they were sensitive to the arguments of woke activists, and therefore unsuspected of racism or homophobia.
Removal from the catalog of the Disney + platform of the Aristocats – a Siamese has slanted eyes -, of Peter Pan – there are “Redskins” -, of Dumbo – African-Americans are represented as crows – and obviously of Aladdin, to clearly show that the company is aware of the outrageously racist nature of these cartoons. Multiplication of queer and black heroes in new productions. Commitment to ensure that 50% of the main characters come from minorities. The problem is that The Marvels and Wish: Asha and the Lucky Star, released this year, are two critical and commercial failures.
The stock market whistles the end of recess
According to the survey carried out by Axios-Harris, Disney has gone in a few years from Americans’ fourth favorite brand to 77th in 2023. Above all, the stock market valuation of the group, the true justice of the peace across the Atlantic, has been divided by two in 18 months. At the end of November, during an event organized by the New York Times, the group’s CEO, Bob Iger, finally admitted that the brand’s objective should be to entertain, more than to send messages. The market has therefore put an end to Disney’s woke attempts. All that for this.
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In a clear book published around fifteen years ago, Is Capitalism Moral? (Albin Michel), André Comte-Sponville had shown that morality, politics and economics were distinct orders. The role of companies is not to be moral or political, it is to best satisfy their customers with products that are desirable and affordable. It is by following this roadmap that they can provide the best possible service to society.
Morality does not make a strategy
Disney’s goal is to entertain, Renault’s goal is to sell beautiful, overpriced electric cars, and Danone’s goal is to make good, affordable food that protects our health. When these companies are run by managers who prefer morality to their customers – this has been seen, including among the aforementioned brands – the performance of the company deteriorates and the bosses in question would be happier at the head of the company. an NGO or a foundation. Milton Friedman was saying the same thing when he urged businesses to maximize their profits, the best way, according to him, for them to contribute to the well-being of society.
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Companies can be the best agents of progress to the extent that they are obliged to respond to a social demand which, itself, sometimes materializes in regulations or in the law. The irresistible rise in ecological concern in Europe will take the form of a ban on the sale of new cars with combustion engines from 2035. Free competition between companies does the rest. Technological progress made by battery and electric car manufacturers is faster today than in the most optimistic initial scenarios. There is no morality in this positive development but awareness, by car manufacturers, of their own interest. This same interest which requires them to be environmentalists, universalists but not woke.
People are demanding equal pay between women and men, no recourse to child labor, and consideration of environmental concerns. Companies must satisfy them. The market does not, however, require proof on their products that they do not discriminate against any of the letters among LGBTQQIP2SAA. Capitalism aggregates and synthesizes human preferences. Not those of sociologists from Anglo-Saxon universities.
Nicolas Bouzou, economist and essayist, is director of the consulting firm Astères.
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