Joel Kotkin on ESG and America’s Industrial Decline

November 7th, 2023

The ever-thought-provoking Joel Kotkin has penned a dark piece about America’s industrial decline – promoted by ESG – positioning us to lose in a global struggle for economic and strategic dominance with China.

Worse, America’s industrial decline is not an inevitable trend. It is the result of daily choices made by our political and corporate elites.

It is still well within the power of the United States to re-industrialize. But, Kotkin writes, “any attempt to re-industrialize will face opposition from much of the American establishment. This includes financial firms like BlackRock, whose largely unprofitable ‘Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance’ (ESG) policies seek to promote investments in firms that purport to meet their Net Zero obsessions. In practice, these policies perpetuate China’s industrial hegemony by hamstringing Western industry. Meanwhile, BlackRock happily expands its business in China, the world’s dominant polluter and autocracy par excellence.”

Kotkin frames all of this within the rubric of a slow-motion “Third World War” that has already started. Let us hope that’s a hyperbolic take. But there is no doubt that the actions of China and Russia make it clear their leaders wake up every morning wondering how to take advantage of any openings we give them.

And we give them plenty.

ESG is the biggest such opening of all. It encourages America’s enemies by divesting in our industrial base and the abundant energy we have to supply it. Imagine any other country frittering away such energy, industrial and financial advantages. The good news is many Americans are coming to understand this the magnitude of this betrayal. So are a number of state attorneys general. But will we act in time?