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The corporate world’s rapid retreat from woke virtue signalling since Trump’s return to the White House is a powerful reminder that politics isn’t always downstream from culture. Sometimes, it’s the other way around.

“Politics is downstream from culture.”

These are the words of the late American commentator Andrew Breitbart. His point was that if conservatives are to regain political influence, they first have to change the culture through media, education and entertainment.

Breitbart was of course correct. But what if he was only partly correct?

What if we have neglected a companion truth: that good, just and courageous political leadership serves as a wellspring of cultural reform?

The Corporate World’s Retreat From DEI

US President Donald Trump entered office less than a month ago, and already his policies and influence have had a major cultural impact, not only in the United States but globally. Dozens of multinational corporations have publicly walked back their DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and ESG (environmental, social and governance) commitments.

In just the latest example, Google has removed Pride Month and Black History Month from its Google Calendar app and scrapped diversity-based hiring targets. It has also officially renamed the Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of America’ on Google Maps following an executive order from President Trump.

Consider the long list of other companies that have made similar moves in recent weeks:

• Disney has removed references to two diversity and inclusion programs in its latest annual filing.
• Target announced it is “concluding its DEI goals” and Black Lives Matter initiatives.
• McDonald’s has abandoned the language of “diversity, equity and inclusion” for “dignity, fairness and respect”, among a range of other DEI rollbacks.
• Six major US banks — JP Morgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs — have have withdrawn from a major UN climate initiative.
• Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has ended its DEI programs, scrapped its fact-checking program, elevated prominent Republican Joel Kaplan as its chief global affairs officer, and elected Trump ally Dana White to its board.
• At least a dozen of America’s largest companies have deleted some or all references to DEI from their most recent annual reports to investors, including Disney, Google, GM, GE, Pepsi, Intel, PayPal, Chipotle, Comcast, 3M, Regeneron, and Philip Morris. Amazon done the same.
• The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock has withdrawn from a key climate investment group, prompting the group to halt its activities.
• ISS, an influential firm that advises investors on how to vote, has announced it will stop considering diversity when advising on US board member elections.
• Tech consulting giant Accenture has announced it will abandon gender quotas and other DEI initiatives.

How Politics Shapes Culture

It could be argued that these companies have made such changes out of sheer expediency — a need to temporarily protect their bottom line while Trump is in power — and that there changes therefore do not reflect genuine or sincere reform.

But there is a solid rebuttal to this argument.

Seismic cultural shifts can be prompted by outside forces rather than heartfelt reevaluation on the part of all participants.

Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, the end of Apartheid in South Africa, and the fall of the Berlin Wall are all relevant examples here. Yes, each of these events took place on the back of deeper cultural shifts — but so has the rollback of DEI and ESG in the corporate world.

Notice also that, as with the rollback of DEI, not all Americans agreed slavery should end — but slavery ended all the same. Likewise, Apartheid and the Berlin Wall still had many supporters during and after their fall. The point is that an entire culture doesn’t have to be in agreement for a cultural shift to take place.

Granted, it is possible that once Trump leaves office, the corporate world will re-embrace wokeness. But if I have read the cultural moment correctly, that scenario is highly unlikely.

The Bible on Politics and Culture

All of these observations align perfectly with the admonitions of Scripture.

As Proverbs 29:2 declares, “When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.”

In other words, culture is downstream from politics.

As Psalm 72:1-4 declares, “Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor.”

In other words, culture is downstream from politics.

As Romans 13:3-4 declares, “For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

In other words, culture is downstream from politics.

Or as 1 Timothy 2:1-2 declares, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

In other words, culture is downstream from politics.

Yes, culture influences politics too. Arguably, that’s the reason Trump took back the White House. But now that he’s in power, the world is witnessing a startling truth: Righteous, fair and commonsense political leadership is a powerful catalyst in bringing about cultural reform.

And it’s only a matter of time before those cultural reforms reach Australia’s shores, too.