This document discusses how ESG (environmental, social, and governance) factors may influence politics. It notes that after the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol, many technology and financial companies took action by blocking accounts and suspending political donations. This shows companies' legitimate concern over the events, but it does not replace the need for deeper debate on underlying responsibilities. The document argues that the insurrection was not solely due to Trump's actions that day, but was triggered by earlier events, and that broader responsibility falls on more people than just Trump. It cites Republican congress members voting against election certification as evidence of wider responsibility.

1. WILL ESG ALSO SHAPE
POLITICS?
Paulo Dalla Nora Macedo

2. The Economist published a
provocative piece on mob rule
in its second edition of 2021,
entitled “Madison’s Nightmare,”
which closed with an
enlightening warning by arguing
that “The age of democratic
naivety died on January 6. It is
time for an age of democratic
sophistication.”

3. At the core of the text is Alexis de
Tocqueville’s formula to uphold
democracy: Do not rely on the
Constitution alone for the
Herculean task of defending
democracy; a country must have a
self-reliant and educated
population, alongside an elite that
recognizes that its first duty is to
educate the democracy. Will this
suggestion resonate in the
corporate world?

4. After the January 6 insurrection, we saw a flurry of analyses that linked the
mob’s actions to the calls President Trump made that day at the “Save America”
rally. We have to question this narrow view and consider the possibility that the
Capitol attack was triggered by events much earlier than the rally. I also think
the responsibility falls onto many more people than just Trump.

5. One piece of evidence of wider
responsibility is that dozens of
Republican Congress members
voted against certifying the
election, in line with the
Capitol mob’s wishes, even
after the invasion. Just
recently, the Republican Party
has declared that the event
was a “legitimate political
discourse.”

6. Predicting that the broader responsibility-
seeking movement would occur, technology
and social media companies blocked the
president’s accounts, as well as many of the
amplifying voices, on an app that was
becoming a haven for extremists. Companies
like Marriott, Airbnb, and Dow Chemical
announced they would suspend donations to
the members of Congress who voted against
the American election certification. Citibank,
Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan, among others,
announced that they were suspending all
donations while “reassessing internal
financing policies.” All of these actions show a
legitimate and welcome concern; however,
these measures ought not to erase the debate
regarding past behaviors.

7. THANK YOU