Readers may be interested in the ideology that springs from the March 14 Salt Lake Tribune article, “Utah Treasurer Marlo Oaks tells Republicans that ESG is part of ‘Satan’s plan.’” One wonders. How does Satan mesh with the management of Utah’s finances?
ESG plays a prominent role. It stands for Environmental, Social and Governance.
Oaks, a well-credentialed financial manager, appears to be guided by religious belief alongside his professional money management skills. To examine this curious nexus between belief and knowledge, we look first at so-called Republican theology, and then the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Republicans appear comfortable with natural law theory that anchors their perceptions of how their economic world works. A casual name for natural law is God’s law. God is not a god of disorder, many believe. Indeed, His economic followers — the “true believers” — are presumed to align with Him through a theology of orderliness. It’s called laissez-faire.
Adam Smith, laissez-faire’s father, lived two centuries ago in a time of comparative economic deprivation. His intellectual system worked well, but then faltered amid rising complexity followed by the Great Depression, due in part to laissez-faire’s unrealistic orderliness requirement, known as equilibrium.
At the nadir — the presidential election of 1932 — incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover carried only one in every eight states. Even so, ideological advocates of so-called free market capitalism never abandoned their failing positions. Many believed they were championing an economic ideology ordained of God. It was a losing strategy, however.
During the economically treacherous winter of 1933, newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt closed failing banks and promoted temporary employment programs because American families were being decimated by unemployment. One in every four workers had lost their jobs.
Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis and others — apparently Marlo Oaks included — seem to believe laissez-faire remains God’s chosen system. Of course, that demeans government’s contemporary responsibilities and fails to account for externalities — such as environmental pollution — that 18th and 19th century economists swept under the rug.
Now, we get to ESG. Even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports it. It represents a rising consciousness within America’s business community that economic “wins” in the short run do not predispose wins over the longer period. Hence, ESG-type strategy steers investors away from putting money into business plans that may cause long-term harm. Risk minimization over the long run is what ESG is about.
Consider the Great Salt Lake. A prudent, ESG-oriented financial manager would avoid placing assets into business plans that undermine the lake’s ecological future.
I encourage readers to embrace the recent New York Times article about Great Salt Lake’s unsustainable ecology, by Utah naturalist Terry Tempest Williams. Williams explains deftly what is Northern Utah’s ongoing and profound failure. It’s a consequence of prioritizing short-term-oriented economic development above long-term sustainability.
Says Williams, “I do not believe Utahns have fully grasped the magnitude of what we are facing. We could be forced to leave.”
Now comes Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks, who professes that sustainable ESG-related investment strategies are part of a satanic plan. How does he get there?
Oaks believes ESG is an outcomes-based system that denies citizen choice. For Mormons, it’s connected, apparently, to beliefs about a so-called war in heaven in which Satan imprisons unwary souls who follow outcomes-based systems.
Hmmm. If you’re not convinced, consider Oaks’ opposition. Included are distinguished Americans such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. One wonders, for instance, according to Oaks, was Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation part of a satanic plan because it can be interpreted as outcomes-based?
My conclusion is really a question. What are Marlo Oaks — and other ESG opponents — possibly thinking?
James Sawyer
Jim Sawyer, Fort Collins, Colorado, is an Ogden native, emeritus from Seattle University and formerly associate state planning coordinator in Utah Gov. Calvin Rampton’s administration. He can be reached through his website: www.morgov.com
