Lessons from Canada's Randy Scandal

Canada's Randy Scandal illustrates why DEI politics and government contracting should be kept separate. 

The Randy Boissonnault saga shows why identity politics and federal contracts shouldn’t mix | The Hub | Sabrina Maddeaux:

Randy Boissonnault in 2018. Photo by

Mack Male. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikipedia Commons.

November 22, 2024 - "It takes more than your average scandal to get a cabinet minister removed from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.... But Randy Boissonnault, the now-former Employment minister, finally managed this practically unheard-of feat. On Wednesday, Trudeau announced Boissonnault would 'step away from cabinet effective immediately.' This comes after months of scrutiny on his former business Global Health Imports (GHI), which claimed to be 'Indigenous-owned' in bids for federal contracts even as Boissonnault’s Indigenous heritage claims shifted wildly.

"The saga and its fallout should extend far beyond Boissonnault and GHI, which are merely the most publicly recognizable tips of the iceberg that is the government’s Indigenous business procurement targets. These affirmative action style mandates should be scrapped, along with the very idea that government contracts should be awarded to favour certain identities.

"In 2021, Trudeau’s Liberals announced that a minimum of 5 percent of all federal department and agency contracts must go to Indigenous businesses. Even prior to these targets, a business’ inclusion in the government’s Indigenous Business Directory meant favourable treatment and limited competition for some contracts. However, like many well-intentioned, poorly executed diversity initiatives, ... such programs create perverse incentives to cheat the system, are practically impossible to audit at scale, and often fail to help the communities they claim to serve. Moreover, they fail to guarantee top value for taxpayer dollars....

"There have been other high-profile reports of alleged fraud and misrepresentations of Indigenous ownership that did result in major federal contracts. The most notable is the ArriveCan app, which saw a $7.9 million contract go to Dalian Enterprises Inc, self-described as 'Aboriginally owned, veteran operated.' The company has received more than $200 million in federal contracts since 2015, although it’s now suspended from working on existing contracts or bidding for new ones.... {I]t’s alleged Dalian, after securing a government contract, would [disburse] government funds and the work to other, non-Indigenous contractors. Indeed, when questioned by MPs about his firm’s work on ArriveCan, Dalian’s president and founder could barely articulate what his company did on the project and admitted to typically subcontracting out federal work to other companies. There have also been questions about the validity of his [indigenous] heritage claims.... 

"In 2016, it was discovered that Canadian Health Care Agency (CHCA), a major nursing contractor for remote and Indigenous communities, got itself listed on the federal Indigenous Business Directory by entering into a partnership with a one-person foot-care company owned by a First Nations nurse. However, the nurse had next to no say in the company and, worse, was eventually pinned with a $500,000 tax bill when the arrangement was audited. While CHCA was removed from the Indigenous Business Directory as of 2019, ... [i]t has since received at least 30 contracts from Indigenous Services Canada, totalling $131.7 million....

"Indigenous leaders themselves are ringing the alarm that the federal government’s Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business (PSIB) is deeply flawed. In September, Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Regional Chief Joanna Bernard told a House committee, 'There is currently no consistent way of verifying the legitimacy of Indigenous businesses, which creates a risk of false claims, tokenism … [and] exploitation [by] bad actors.'

"While some may argue for increased auditing or different methods of identity verification, the reality is neither are realistic solutions. The federal government simply doesn’t have the capacity to  —nor should it dedicate mass resources to — successfully audit a program that incentivizes fraud by being based on difficult-to-verify identity claims and ownership percentages.... We simply don’t know how much of the massive amount of public money earmarked for Indigenous contracts actually flows to Indigenous entrepreneurs.... The government isn’t able to assure the public their taxes aren’t going to frauds and frontmen, let alone that we get the best value and outcomes from the best companies for our money....

"Boissonnault’s time in cabinet didn’t end with the legacy he hoped, but it would be a shame for such a scandal to go to waste, used only for partisan barbs rather than a push for much-needed, common-sense reform. Procurement may be a typically wonkish topic, but it couldn’t be more vital to how Canadians experience government and access services. Federal policy must abandon its misguided adventures in identity politics to laser-focus on results."

Read more: https://thehub.ca/2024/11/22/sabrina-maddeaux-the-randy-boissonnault-saga-shows-why-identity-politics-and-federal-contracts-shouldnt-mix/

Historica Canada charity takes down Sir John A.'s Heritage Minute

Historica Canada, a primarily government-funded* charity, has taken down its Heritage Minute on Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, from its YouTube channel due to its failure to address "controversies regarding Macdonald's treatment of indigenous peoples."

Conservatives blast “woke censors” for erasing John A. Macdonald Heritage Minute | True North | Andrew Lawton:

July 8, 2024 - "A Conservative MP is taking aim at Historica Canada for deleting a Heritage Minute highlighting Sir John A Macdonald’s role in Confederation amid what it called 'controversies regarding Macdonald’s treatment of Indigenous peoples'.... Historica Canada, the charity that produces the long-running Heritage Minute series, quietly removed the episode in question, which was produced in 2015 in the leadup to Canada’s sesquicentennial, from its YouTube page.

Sir John A. Macdonald statue vandalized  in Montreal,

August  30, 2020. CBC: The National, YouTube.

"The Heritage Minute in question, which remains available on Facebook, encapsulates Macdonald’s vision of a nation stretching “from sea to sea,” a dream realized through the construction of the Canadian Pacific railway. 

"In the video, the actor portraying Macdonald expresses his enthusiasm for Confederation: 'To the east, the Atlantic provinces, then Upper and Lower Canada, across the Prairies, to the Rockies and beyond. A new country made one by a railway from sea to sea'....

"A spokesperson for Historica Canada ... reiterated the organization’s commitment to 'educate Canadians on the history of this country, including both its achievements and failings.... In the case of Macdonald that means recognizing both his many accomplishments while in office – including his key role in Confederation – while also acknowledging those areas where his legacy is more complicated,' [the] spokesperson told True North. 'The Minute is on hiatus from distribution – not permanently withdrawn – while we discuss ways to address that'.... 

"Historica Canada told True North last week that when the Heritage Minute was produced, 'the more intense discussions and subsequent controversies regarding Macdonald’s treatment of Indigenous peoples had not yet taken place.' 'To present a Minute – particularly given their extensive use in schools – without mentioning these other aspects of his time in office is to provide an incomplete image lacking proper context,' the spokesperson said. 'This view was reflected in some feedback from educators.' [It] said it was putting the minute on 'hiatus while we assess what other accompanying content we can provide in order to offer a more complete treatment.'

"[Conservative heritage critic Rachael] Thomas linked the decision to a broader 'woke culture' she says a Conservative government would reject. 'Instead of Trudeau’s woke culture that is attempting to tear down our country, common sense Conservatives will restore the Canada we know and love and celebrate the proud country we call home,' she said.

"Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre similarly chided the Trudeau government for being governed by a 'weird, woke ideology' in his speech to supporters at the Calgary Stampede on the weekend. It 'destroys our education, dishonours our history, and divides our people,' Poilievre said."

Read more: https://tnc.news/2024/07/08/conservatives-blast-woke-censors-macdonald-heritage/

* "Historica Canada received $2.3m in donations in F2022 and $3.5m in government funding. Government funding represents 60% of total revenue." Charity Intelligencer, "Historica Canada," June 15, 2023. Web, July 10, 2024. https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/796-historica-canada

The Untold Truth about Canada's First Prime Minister – Greg Piasetzki | Aristotle Foundation | June 13, 2023:

Extreme left has killed TV comedy, says Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld on how woke 'crap' killed comedy | Western Standard | Jen Hodgson:

April 29, 2024 - Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, star of the hit ‘90s show Seinfeld, has commented on the sad state of comedy.... Seinfeld, whose 70th birthday is Monday, told the New Yorker's David Remnick on his show Radio Hour the 'extreme left’s' attack on comedy and “PC (politically correct) crap” has all but ruined the industry for audiences and comedians alike. 

"There once was a day, Seinfeld said, where people could come home from a long day at work and expect something funny to be on television each night, such as Cheers, M.A.S.H., and All in the Family  — now, though human nature still craves comic relief, it’s nowhere to be found. 

“'Nothing really affects comedy. People always need it. They need it so badly and they don't get it,' said Seinfeld. 'Well, guess what? Where is it? This is the result of the extreme left and PC crap and people worrying so much about offending other people.'

"Seinfeld almost a decade ago started warning other comedians about performing at college campuses. They are becoming too politically correct, he said in 2015, per the Daily Mail. The stand-up comedian however said there is still hope for people to get their laughs on without being smacked down by the woke mob. 

“'Now they're going to see stand-up comics because they are not policed by anyone. The audience polices us. We know when we're off track. We know instantly. And we adjust to it instantly,' said Seinfeld. 'But when you write a script, and it goes into four or five different hands, committees, groups … well, that's the end of your comedy.

"'With certain comedians now, people are having fun with them stepping over the line, and us all laughing about it. But again, it's the stand-ups that really have the freedom to do it because no one else gets the blame if it doesn't go down well. He or she can take all the blame.'"

Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/watch-jerry-seinfeld-on-how-woke-crap-killed-comedy/54165

Jerry Seinfeld Says Extreme Left Is RUINING TV Comedy; Calls It 'PC CRAP' | The Hill | April 29, 2024: 

How "woke" is Canada?

"Surprisingly, despite their reputation," says Prof. Eric Kaufmann, "Canadians largely reject the woke ideology." 

Canadians aren’t actually ‘woke’ | The Hub ] Eric Kaufmann: 

February 15, 2024 - "'Woke' refers to the sacralization of historically marginalized race, gender, and sexual identity groups. This belief system elevates equal outcomes and emotional harm protection for such groups as its highest value.... Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has distinguished himself on the world stage as the paragon of this belief system, and many outside Canada assume he reflects an equally woke Canadian public. But is this truly the case? To better understand Canadian views, The Macdonald-Laurier Institute asked Maru Public Opinion Polls to conduct a nationally representative survey of 1,500 adults, in which I fielded numerous questions previously put to American and British samples.... 

"Surprisingly, despite their reputation, Canadians largely reject the woke ideology. For instance, they oppose the idea of separating pupils in class by race—assigning whites as privileged and minorities as oppressed—by a whopping 92 to 8. By 85-15, they reject the idea of teaching children that 'There is no such thing as biological sex, only gender preference.' Excluding those with no opinion, 80 percent of respondents were against the idea of J.K. Rowling being dropped by her publisher. By a similar slant, Canadians say 'political correctness has gone too far.'

"In most cases, respondents came out strongly against established practices found in Canadian institutions. For example, when Toronto teacher Richard Bilkszto pushed back against diversity trainer Kike Ojo-Thompson’s characterization of Canada as more racist than the United States, none of his colleagues defended him and his travails eventually drove him to suicide. Yet, by a stunning 95-5 margin, Canadians overwhelmingly reject the idea that their country is more racist than other countries. Among those with an opinion, just 30 percent say that Canada is a racist country while 70 percent disagree. A similar share says they do not want schoolchildren taught that the country is racist.

"Or consider the fact that almost all statues of Sir John A. Macdonald have been removed from major Canadian cities. Yet, Canadians oppose removing statues of Canada’s Father of Confederation by a two-to-one ratio. Among those with an opinion, a mere 8 percent say activists should be allowed to remove statues without government approval, with 92 percent against. Almost 45 percent of Tory and PPC voters strongly disagree with removing Macdonald. In addition, only 5 percent of Liberal, NDP, and Green voters strongly agree that his statues should be removed. The majority of left-wing voters oppose rather than support Macdonald’s removal.

"Canada has been one of the most trans-affirming societies on earth. Only in the past year have conservative premiers in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, and Alberta begun to curb trans activism in education....  But when we look at public opinion on the trans question, an entirely different picture emerges. By a four-to-one ratio, Canadians oppose gender reassignment surgery for those under 16. By two-to-one, they want parents informed of pronoun changes at school and don’t want transgender women (i.e. biological males) to enter women’s sports competitions. Three in four Canadians say we talk too much about transgenderism. Even when it comes to people displaying their pronouns in work emails or social media profiles, more Canadians disapprove of this practice than support it....

"It is striking how similar Canadian public opinion is to that of supposedly more conservative America or Britain. Across 30 questions I asked in Britain in 2022 and Canada in 2023, the average difference in opinion between the two countries is just 0.3 of a percentage point. Furthermore, of the 13 questions asked in the U.S. in 2021, the average gap with this Canadian survey was just one point! There is essentially no appreciable difference.... French-English differences are also much smaller than the stereotype of woke English Canada versus plain-speaking traditional French Canada would lead us to expect. Francophones are somewhat less woke than Anglos on many transgender questions and more inclined to colourblindness rather than race and gender-conscious Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies. However, Anglophones are more critical of Black Lives Matter than Francophones, more likely to say political correctness has gone too far, and more opposed to removing statues and renaming buildings.... 

"English Canada’s culturally-left political and media elite contrasts with that of red-state America, and, to a lesser degree, with Britain and Quebec. If English-Canadian public opinion is largely aligned with the others, why have its policies and politicians diverged from their British, American, and Quebecois equivalents? One possible answer is Canadians’ relatively high trust in elites and institutions. More than half of Canadians trust journalists while fewer than 20 percent of Britons and barely a third of Americans do. Even 30 percent of conservative Canadians trust journalists compared to 11-15 percent of conservative Americans and Britons. A somewhat similar pattern holds with respect to academics and teachers. Canadians’ elevated trust in their largely progressive-dominated institutions gives the Canadian elite more leeway to deviate from public opinion.

"The key takeaway is that culture war issues are far less settled than a lot of mainstream commentary would have Canadians believe. Polling irrefutably shows that Canadians are as inclined as Americans or Britons to disagree with a lot of the woke shibboleths that are present in the media, universities, and other major institutions. As for the political implications, these findings may represent a glaring opportunity for conservatives and a glaring risk for progressives."

Read more: https://thehub.ca/2024-02-15/eric-kaufmann-canadians-are-not-actually-woke/

Read report: https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/politics-of-culture-wars-canada/

The True Definition of Wokeness? - Eric Kaufmann | The Equiano Project |  September 8, 2023:

Trudeau gov't mandates tampons in men's rooms

Canada's Trudeau gov't has mandated that free menstrual products be provided in the men's rooms of all federally-regulated buildings.

Trudeau Government puts tampons in men’s bathrooms | The Counter Signal | Mike Campbell: 

December 13, 2023 - "The Trudeau Liberals have placed tampons in men’s bathrooms in all federally regulated buildings. Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri showcased the latest development in a video she posted on social media.... Ferreri focused on how out of touch the issue is based on the cost of living crisis, as opposed to the painfully obvious fact that men don’t need period products.

"'So for people who have an average income of $70,000, they are going to have access to period products — shouldn’t that be going to people who can’t afford them?' She added, 'I might just take some of these myself and walk them down to the Ottawa food bank where they can be best used — not here'.... 

"[T]he Trudeau Government made a regulatory proposal in 2022 that said a 'lack of access to menstrual products in men’s toilet room has raised concerns regarding washroom equity.' The proposal stipulated that employers must provide menstrual products in each toilet room. One product dispenser is needed for each washroom, 'regardless of gender,' across all work sites under the control of large business employers in the federal jurisdiction.... 

"[T]he government estimated the total cost of the regulations would be $116.6 million from 2024 to 2033. That includes estimates for how much it would cost employers to purchase the products and provide and install containers for their disposal.

As an aside, ... a petition calling for a no confidence vote in the Trudeau government has reached over 287,000 signatures, surpassing the most signed e-petition in parliamentary history."

Read more: https://thecountersignal.com/trudeau-government-puts-tampons-in-mens-bathrooms/

Tampons in Federal Mens Washrooms | Canadian Freedom, Right? | December 13, 2023: 

Canadian Air Force members rip down tampon dispenser in men’s bathroom | The Counter Signal: 

January 10, 2024 -"A picture has surfaced on social media showing a ripped down tampon dispenser in a Canadian Air Force men’s bathroom. Social media account Veterans 4 Freedom (@Vets4FreeCanada) posted a picture showing the development....

"'Sent to us from [Canadian Forces Base] Trenton.  This is a picture of a men’s washroom, think maybe the Troops are tired of being humiliated by the woke nonsense?' the account posted, attaching a picture that showed a number of holes in the wall where the dispenser used to stand. 

"The incident comes ... after the Trudeau Liberals mandated that tampons be placed in men’s bathrooms in all federally regulated buildings, a move that earned international headlines and mockery. The federal Liberals 2022 budget for Canadian Armed Forces had funding for such, given that they included $100.5 million for 'gender identity' culture change and training in the Canadian Armed Forces."

Read more: https://thecountersignal.com/canadian-air-force-members-rip-down-tampon-dispenser-in-mens-bathroom/

Ex-Liberal prez on "Trudeau's woke nanny state"

Podcaster and former Liberal Party of Canada president Stephen LeDrew rants about "Justin Trudeau's woke nanny state."

Ex-Liberal prez says Trudeau's woke nanny state makes life worse for all | Western Standard | Lee Harding 

Jul 8, 2023 - "Former Liberal Party president Stephen LeDrew continues to condemn the rulership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for undermining Canada. In his latest rant, entitled, 'Justin Trudeau’s Woke Nanny State is Making Life Worse—for Each and Every Canadian!' [see video], LeDrew said the mainstream media is 'being lulled into silence by the cheques from Justin, or they just acquiesce. And that's wrong'.... 

Ledrew, recently had Hamilton school trustee Catherine Kronas on his program. She posted the Hamilton Gender Identity and Gender Expression Procedure on Twitter June 16 saying it 'will ... deny ... parental involvement in social transition'.... Ledrew said this policy, endorsed by the Liberal government, is off-base. 'Parents are the parents; they should know. Seamus Reagan said, "Well, you know what, sometimes parents cannot be trusted," and that's where the state falls into it; that's where the school boards should be in control of this. I say that's absolutely wrong. We don't need more states taking care of our children. That's like the USSR'.... 

"From one controversy to another, Ledrew called the prime minister offside. In another example, Ledrew conceded some death and mistreatment occurred at residential schools but said Trudeau had presented a false narrative. 'Our prime minister said, it's genocide. He besmirched Canada around the world, and no facts to support that.'

"The idea that the government provide a safe supply of drugs may occasionally apply, Ledrew said, but fails as a one-size-fits-all solution. 'We really need more on rehabilitation. There are so many different solutions to it. We have a Prime Minister who is dogmatic, who really just sticks to one thing, ignores [the rest], and it calls it science. It's not science.... 

> And that, of course, brings us to climate change and the taxes that are killing the middle class in this country. The Prime Minister says we're doing it to fight climate change. And yet, climate change is just getting worse in this country, his fight is over. He's done nothing about it except for impoverish many, many Canadians who had good paying jobs before. And the rest of the world is noticing that Canada is just not up to snuff.

"That was only a short list, LeDrew said, of government failures. 'Canadians need to pay attention, and I think we need to discuss it more because we can do better, but we're letting those politicians off the hook. This country needs bold and fearless discussion of the issues that are confronting it.'"

Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/ex-liberal-prez-says-trudeaus-woke-nanny-state-makes-life-worse-for-all/article_184f5952-1d08-11ee-81e9-2399a14d89da.html

Justin Trudeau’s Woke Nanny State is Making Life Worse—for Each and Every Canadian! | The LeDrew Three Minute interview | July 7, 2023:

This Bud's for Who? What the Bud Light marketing fiasco says about class divisions in America

Mike Mozart, Bud Light Truck at Stew Leonard's, 2014 (detail). CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.

What the Bud Light Fiasco Reveals about the Ruling Class | Brownstone Institute - Jeffrey A. Tucker:

April 13, 2023 - "How did someone believe that making 'trans woman' Dylan Mulvaney the icon of a Bud Light ad campaign, complete with a beer can with Mulvaney’s image on it, would be good for sales?.... Dylan, who had previously been interviewed on trans issues by President Biden himself, was celebrating '365 Days of Girlhood' with a grotesquely misogynistic caricature that would disgust just about the whole market for this beer. Indeed, this person’s cosplay might as well be designed to discredit the entire political agenda of gender dysphoriacs. 

"Sure enough, because we don’t have mandates on what beers you must buy, sales of the beer plummeted. The parent company Anheuser-Busch’s stock lost $5 billion or 4 percent in value since the ad campaign rollout. Sales have fallen 50-70 percent. Now there is worry within the company of a widening boycott to all their brands. A local Missouri distributor of the product canceled an appearance by Budweiser Clydesdale horses due to public anger....

"The person who made the miscalculation is Alissa Gordon Heinerscheid, Vice President in charge of marketing for Bud Light. She explained that her intention was to make the beer King of ‘Woke’ Beers. She wanted to shift away from the 'out of touch' frat party image to one of 'inclusivity.' By all accounts, she actually believed this. More likely, she was rationalizing actions that would earn her bragging rights within her social circle. 

"Digging through her personal biography, we find all the predictable signs of tremendous detachment from regular life: elite boarding school (Groton, $65K a year), Harvard, Wharton School, coveted internship at General Foods, and straight to top VP at the biggest beverage company in the world. Somehow through all that, nothing entered her brain apart from elite opinion on how the world should work with theories never actually tested by real-world marketing demands....  

"She is a perfect symbol of a problem that afflicts high-end corporate and government culture: a shocking blindness toward the mainstream of American life, including working classes and other people less privileged. They are invisible to this crowd. And her type is pervasive in corporate America with its huge layers of management developed over 20 years of loose credit and push for token representation at the highest levels. 

"We’ve seen this manifest over three years [as] ruling-class types imposed lockdowns, masks, and vaccine mandates on the whole population without regard to the consequences and with full expectation that the food will continue to be delivered to their doorsteps no matter how many days, months, or years they stay at home and stay safe. The working classes, meanwhile, were shoved out in front of the pathogen to make their assigned contribution to herd immunity so that the rich and privileged could preserve their clean state of being, making TikTok videos and issuing edicts from their safe spaces for two or even three years. 

"In the late 19th century, the blindness of class detachment was a problem that so consumed Karl Marx that he became possessed with the desire to overthrow class distinctions between labor and capital.... In every country where his dreams became a reality, however, a protected elite took over and secured themselves from the consequences of their deluded dreams.  The people who in recent decades have drunk so deeply from the well of the Marxian tradition seem to be repeating that experience with complete disinterest in the lower classes, while pushing a deepening chasm that only became worse in the lockdown years in which they have controlled the levers of power. 

"It was startling to watch, and I could hardly believe what was happening. Then one day the incredibly obvious dawned on me. All official opinion in this country and even the whole world – government, media, corporations, technology – emanated from the same upper echelons of the class structure. It was people with elite educations and who had the time to shape public opinion. They are the ones on Twitter, in the newsrooms, fussing with the codes, and enjoying the laptop life of a permanent bureaucrat. 

"Their social circles were the same. They knew no one who cut trees, butchered cows, drove trucks, fixed cars, and met payroll in a small restaurant. The “workers and peasants” are people the elites so otherized that they became nothing more than non-playing characters who make stuff work but are not worthy of their attention or time. 

"The result was a massive transfer of wealth upwards in the social ladder as digital brands, technology, and Peloton thrived, while everyone else faced a barrage of ill health, debt, and inflation. As classes have grown more stratified – and, yes, there is a reason to worry about the gap between the rich and the poor when malleability is restricted – the intellectual producers of policy and opinion have constructed their own bubble to protect themselves from by being soiled by contrary points of view. 

They want the whole world to be their own safe space regardless of the victims. Would lockdowns have happened in any other kind of world? Not likely. And it would not have happened if the overlords did not have the technology to carry on their lives as normal while pretending that no one was really suffering from their scheme. 

"The Bud Light case is especially startling because the advent of commercial society in the high Middle Ages and through the Industrial Revolution was supposed to mitigate against this sort of myopic stratification. And this has always been the most compelling critique of Marx: he was raging against a system that was gradually winnowing away the very demarcations in classes that he decried....  Joseph Schumpeter in 1919 wrote an essay on this topic in his book Imperialism and Social Classes. He highlighted how the commercial ethos dramatically changed the class system. 'The warlord was automatically the leader of his people in virtually every respect,' he wrote. 'The modern industrialist is anything but such a leader'.... 

"But what happens when the corporate elites, working together with government, themselves become the warlords? The foundations of market capitalism begin to erode. The workers become ever more alienated from final consumption of the product they have made possible. 

"It’s been typical of people like me – pro-market libertarians – to ignore the issue of class and its impact on social and political structures. We inherited the view of Frederic Bastiat that the good society is about cooperation between everyone and not class conflict, much less class war. We’ve been suspicious of people who rage against wealth inequality and social stratification. And yet we do not live in such market conditions. The social and economic systems of the West are increasingly bureaucratized, hobbled by credentialism, and regulated, and this has severely impacted class mobility. Indeed, for many of these structures, exclusion of the unwashed is the whole point. 

"And the ruling class themselves have ever more the mindset as described by Thorstein Veblen: only the ignorable do actual work while the truly successful indulge in leisure and conspicuous consumption as much as their means allow. One supposes that this doesn’t hurt anyone…until it does. And this certainly happened in very recent history as the conspicuous consumers harnessed the power of states all over the world to serve their interests exclusively. The result was calamity for rights and liberties won over a thousand years of struggle. 

"The emergent fissures between the classes – and the diffusions of our ruling class into many sectors public and private – suggest an urgency for a new consciousness of the real meaning of the common good, which is inseparable from liberty. The marketing director of Bud Light talked a good line about 'inclusivity' but she plotted to impose everything but that. Her plan was designed for the one percent and to the exclusion of all the people who actually consume the product, to say nothing for the workers who actually make and deliver the product she was charged with promoting.

"That the markets have so brutally punished the brand and company for this profound error points the way to the future. People should have the right to their own choices about the kind of life they want to live and the products and services they want to consume. The dystopia of lockdowns and woke hegemony of public opinion – complete with censorship – have become the policy to overturn if the workers are ever to throw off the chains that bind them. The boycotts of Bud Light are but a beginning."

Read more: https://brownstone.org/articles/what-bud-light-fiasco-reveals-about-ruling-class/

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License