Utah Official Charges Woke Corporations Part Of ‘Satan’s Plan’

Utah state treasurer Marlo Oaks denounced the controversial environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment movement as part of “Satan’s plan.” The official pushed back against the movement that is rooted in woke politics and social engineering.

Oaks was addressing the Salt Lake County Republican Party Convention when he made his remarks. He blasted ESG as well as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of “outcomes-based systems.”

These, he said, are constructed to advance to a predetermined conclusion without discussion. That conclusion, of course, is a batch of leftist causes that fail in the court of public opinion.

As Oaks put it, “the goals have been identified. The truth has already been defined that these are the problems and here are the solutions.” Thus, debate is over.

He referenced the Book of Revelation’s “war in Heaven” and called the two programs part of “Satan’s plan.”

Both initiatives emphasize progressive political and social outcomes in determining where to place investor funds. They have come under fierce attack for a multitude of reasons, including ignoring investment vehicles that will bring a higher financial return.

A spokesman for Oaks said his reference to scripture was an attempt to use an example the audience would understand. They explained that the treasurer’s “opposition is to coercion as a mechanism in society.”

The treasurer is one of several officials who called into question ESG initiatives. The criticism is that the movement seeks to bypass lawmakers and the political process to achieve its goals.

Last year, Oaks railed against the initiatives as promoting and implementing policies that the legislative process would never approve. The Green New Deal, he said, sputtered in Congress. Therefore, its backers move on to capital markets to reach their goals.

Proponents believe large corporations should shift away from their traditional profit motivation for the sake of their shareholders. They should move from serving the bottom line to promoting society at large.

ESG involves a rating system that factors in such leftist utopian goals as climate change, corporate diversity, and social justice. In other words, the dream of a woke bureaucracy that would fail if put to a vote is realized through corporate activism.