Florida's War on 'Leftist Ideologues' Is a War on Freedom

The party which once claimed to be for small government and free markets has taken off the mask, laying bare its true intentions.

On January 17, Florida's Republican Governor and Trustees of the State Board of Administration (SBA) approved measures to "protect Florida’s investments from woke environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), ensuring that all investment decisions focus solely on maximizing the highest rate of return" (my emphasis).

"House Chamber, Florida State Capitol" by StevenM_61 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

__________

The far-right's message is clear: shut up and stay out of politics if your opinions don't align with the government's. That is what happens in countries like the People's Republic of China (PRC), where the government dictates what businesses can and cannot say.

Some people argue that the US is far from being like the PRC. But these people ignore the signs, and the trends. Even in the PRC, crackdowns don't always happen overnight, but they build up and intensify, as the rise and fall of Hong Kong's media tycoon Jimmy Lai shows.

Florida's war on businesses that endorse causes they believe in is nothing but an authoritarian power grab to restrict individual freedoms. The far-right's "war on woke" is a war on freedom, an attack on the bedrock of the US political, ethical and social system.

At least in theory, Reagan Republicans claimed to the US public and the world that their ideals revolved around "lower taxes, less government restrictions on businesses and individuals and a strong military".

Many will disagree with Reagan's policies, but that's a different discussion that I will not go into here. My point is that Florida has become a training ground for far-right authoritarians who want to silence and punish their opponents. They don't want small government, but totalitarian government. If you don't agree with politicians, you must be silent.

Here's what Florida's Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis stated:

"[T]he Florida Cabinet reaffirmed today that we don’t want a single penny of our dollars going to woke funds. We need asset managers to be laser focused on returns and nothing more. Florida’s not going to subsidize the actions of a bunch of Leftist ideologues who hate America; we’re not going to let a bunch of rich people in Manhattan or Europe try to circumvent our democracy."

Patronis' language is extremist and authoritarian. And he's lying about leftists "hating" America, this is simply a smear tactic. A government that imposes ideological conformity is not democratic. It does not respect people's basic freedoms. This has nothing to do with returns on investment.

If it was about financial issues, the government could have examined investments and simply cut back on those that don't perform. If it was only about money, there would be no need to use such hateful far-right partisan rhetoric.

But it's not about returns on investment. It's about a bunch of far-right bullies who want to use the power of government to impose their ideology, intimidate their critics and prevent citizens from exercising their freedoms. It is authoritarian.

_____

***

Thanks for reading! If you liked this post, consider supporting me by checking out some of my books.

Comments

The Window Trick of Las Vegas Hotels

When I lived in Hong Kong I often passed by a residential apartment complex commonly known as the " monster building ". " Interior of the Yick Cheong Building November 2016 " by Nick-D is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 . _____

Living in Taiwan: Seven Reasons Why It's Good to Be Here

Chinese New Year can be a pretty boring time for a foreigner. All of my friends were celebrating with their families, and since I have no family here, nor have I a girlfriend whose family I could join, I had nothing special to do. Shops and cafes were closed - apart from big chains like McDonald's or Starbucks, which were overcrowded anyway. So I had a lot of time to think. On Saturday evening I went out to buy my dinner. While I was walking around, I heard the voices of the people inside their homes, the sounds of their New Year celebrations. Then I suddenly asked myself: "What on earth are you doing here? Why are you still in Taiwan?" Before I came to Taiwan, some Taiwanese friends of mine had recommended me their country, highly prasing it and going so far as to say that Taiwan is a "paradise for foreigners" (bear in mind that when I say foreigners I mean 'Westerners'). "It's easy for foreigners to find a job," t...

Is China's MINISO Copying Japan's MUJI, UNIQLO and Daiso?

Over the past few years Japanese retailers such as UNIQLO and MUJI have conquered foreign markets, opening shops in cities such as Paris, Berlin or New York and becoming household names in several countries. But the success of their business model seems to have inspired people with dubious intentions. As the website Daliulian recently showed, a new chain called MINISO, which claims to be a Japanese company selling ‘100% Japanese products’, seems to be nothing more than a knock-off of UNIQLO, MUJI and Daiso, copying their logos, names and even the layout of their stores. The company’s webpage proudly announces – in terrible English – that “ MINISO is a fast fashion designer brand of Japan. Headquartered in Tokyo Japan, Japanese young designer Miyake Jyunya is founder as well as the chief designer of MINISO, a pioneer in global 'Fashion & Casual Superior Products' field. ” According to the company’s homepage, MINISO advocates the philosophy of a simple, ...

Macau: Gambling, Corruption, Prostitution, and Fake Worlds

As I mentioned in my previous post , Macau has different faces and identities: there is the old Macau, full of colonial buildings and in which the pace of life seems to resemble a relaxed Mediterranean town rather than a bustling, hectic Chinese city, such as Hong Kong or Shanghai. On the other hand, there is the Macau of gambling, of gigantic hotel and casino resorts, and of prostitution. These two Macaus seem to be spatially separated from each other, with an intact colonial city centre and nice outskirts with small alleys on the one side, and bombastic, modern buildings on the other. The Galaxy - one of the huge casino and hotel resorts The Importance of Gambling for Macau's Economy Dubbed the 'Monte Carlo of the East', Macau has often been portrayed as the gambling capital of China. Media reporting on Macau tend present pictures of the city's glistening, apparently luxurious skyline. But a visit in Macau suffices to realize that it is fa...

Trip to Tainan

Tainan Train Station Last weekend I made a one day trip to the Southern Taiwanese city of Tainan (Chinese: 臺南, pinyin: Táinán), the former capital and one of the most important centres of culture, history and architecture of the island. This blog post is also intended as a special thank to Grace, a Taiwanese friend who was so kind to show me around, and very patient, too. Since Tainan doesn't have an extensive public transport net, Grace picked me up at the train station with her motorcycle, a vehicle that, along with cars, is regarded by locals as indispensable for living comfortably in Tainan. To my great embarrassment, though, I had to admit that I cannot ride a motorcycle. That's why we had to take busses to move around. It was the first time she ever took a bus in Tainan. And now I know why: busses come more or less every half an hour, and service stops early in the evening. No wonder Tainanese snob public transport. Grace had no idea about the routes and about whe...

Schedium

Search This Blog