This is an interesting question to ask but not an easy one to answer. From the abolition of slavery and ushering in of civil rights in the US; the world’s largest capitalist economy, to debates on whether or not private capital can help break the shackles of caste discrimination in India, one can debate it at multiple points in time and geographies. The reason this column is asking this question is the sudden surge in some of the biggest companies in the US taking an anti-woke turn as Donald Trump prepares to take over as the president once again.

The turn has been so stark that the Financial Times, one of the most authoritative voices on capitalism, ran a story asking whether corporate America was going Maga?

“In a mirror image of the 2020 corporate rush to support social justice causes after the murder of George Floyd by a policeman, companies today are reshaping the way they interact with their customers, employees and society at large…Companies are scrapping diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) departments, cutting their support for racial diversity charities, and dropping out of climate change groups. They are also scrubbing anything that could be perceived as “woke” from public statements, corporate documents and advertising”, the FT story says.

To be sure, what is being offered by capital in return for being in the good books of the new regime in the US is not just a reneging on what many would call "subjective" socially progressive views or affirmative action. With companies like Meta, which owns social media giant Facebook, also diluting their fact-check policy, even the so-called objective regulations are being dialled down. It is almost a retrospective concession to the mass base of the new president who has........

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