DrContrarian

Bruce, I love your music man. It is old-fashioned, but I like it. My favourite song is actually not Born in the USA or the like, but Streets of Philadelphia. Not only is it a nice tune, I really like the message too. But you know, I don’t like how you play your politics. Make no mistake, I don’t MIND your politics and I am sure we can agree on a lot of things – and even in this case I may even agree with your belief. So the point is not where you stand on the issue.  But I don’t like the hypocritical way you play it. So you cancel a concert and boycott a state that you disagree with. I am sure you think that it is your way to express your support for people who are getting the short straw. I am sure you see it as your right to play in front of whoever and wherever. But Bruce, can I ask you this: Have you refunded all the money you made from selling songs to the states that hold a different view to you? Have you asked those citizens not to buy your...

  Dear Mr Mark Zuckerberg, I read with interest your appeal to people not to deface the ‘black lives matter’ logo. Really interesting dilemma you face. I must be honest and upfront with you; I don’t feel sorry for you in dealing with pernicious insubordination. That is what happens when you let the #SJWs run the agenda in the work place, but this is a real interesting leadership challenge. How do you lead when you are wrong? I only want to address the issue a bit more philosophically because I am curious about your thinking. I can’t comprehend how a smart guy got sucked into this vortex of stupidity. If I try and look for a single word to describe what lies at the heart of all the ‘social justice’ causes I conclude that it is the idea of tolerance . Would that be a fair conclusion? We should tolerate people who are different. We should tolerate different races and genders for instance. ‘Black lives matter’ is about fairness and justice and equality, it is about ...

(Or, other people’s money...) Over the years business organisations have been eaten away slowly from the inside by social justice warriors. How this happened, requires us to go back a few years and in the evolution of the business organisation. Business organisations used to have a simple, clear objective: to make a commercial return to their shareholders. To do this, they innovated, developed products and served the needs of the people in a market place where those solutions are traded for cash – at a profit. The business wins and the consumer wins. The thin edge of the wedge has been sustainability, introduced some two decades ago, by the proponents of sustainability who proffered a solution to a problem that did not exist. They suggested that organisations should broaden their focus to include an emphasis on environment and on community. Broadening the focus automatically and explicitly also equates to a dilution of focus – that stands to reason. That is the guarante...