Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has strongly disagreed with billionaire Mark Cuban’s assertion that promoting “woke” capitalism is advantageous for businesses. In an interview on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream, Ramaswamy, known for his book “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam,” criticized Cuban’s viewpoint and provided evidence, such as Bud Light and Target, to support his argument that embracing woke ideologies is detrimental to both business success and the cohesion of society.
According to Ramaswamy, businesses have a distinct purpose, which is to provide products and services to meet the needs of customers and generate unapologetic profits. He stressed that when businesses venture into social controversies, it not only harms their bottom line—as exemplified by Bud Light and Target—but also erodes the neutral spaces that are essential for fostering a healthy civic culture and bringing people together.
Contrary to Ramaswamy’s stance, Cuban recently claimed in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that embracing woke principles is a sound business strategy. Despite instances where Target and Anheuser Busch experienced significant market value losses due to conservative backlash against LGBT-themed campaigns, Cuban argued that most of the top ten market capitalization companies in the U.S. are considered woke because it is “good business.” He suggested that companies simply wait out the news cycle and smoothly transition to the next trend.
Ramaswamy countered Cuban’s viewpoint by asserting that private sector institutions, including sports stadiums and laboratories, should serve as unifying spaces for Americans, regardless of their political differences. He concluded that woke capitalism not only undermines the principles of capitalism itself but also poses a threat to American democracy. Ramaswamy has been leading a crusade against this phenomenon for several years, which he intends to carry all the way to the White House as part of his presidential campaign.
Fox News reports that Bud Light experienced a significant decline in sales—23.9% compared to the previous year—after partnering with Dylan Mulvaney, a social media influencer who identifies as a woman. Similarly, Target’s market capitalization reportedly suffered a $15.7 billion decrease due to boycotts related to the company’s sale of “tuck-friendly” swimwear and prominent displays during Pride Month.
Ramaswamy is not alone in challenging Cuban’s perspective on woke business practices. Another “Shark Tank” co-host, Kevin O’Leary, countered Cuban’s claim by emphasizing that businesses’ primary role for the past two centuries has been to serve customers, employees, and shareholders—not to engage in educating society on current social issues.