By MOLLEE BRELAND, Alabama Daily News
A new program for business students at Troy University aims to counter “woke” policies in the corporate world.
The Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy is launching a Free Enterprise Scholars program to educate undergraduates about the principles of free enterprise.
Allen Mendenhall, executive director of the Johnson Center, said teaching the morality of free enterprise in a business school will create more knowledgeable and respected future leaders who understand how businesses spread prosperity, create jobs, incentivize honest behavior and generate value for consumers.
“When companies spend time and resources on social causes unrelated to their business, they end up alienating some consumers while funding ideas that will hurt not just their business but the economic system writ large,” Mendenhall said.
The Johnson Center plans to take a stand against what Mendenhall calls “woke” policies that are increasingly common in corporate America.
“Business leaders do not have to apologize for profits earned honorably or purchase absolution through wokeness,” Mendenhall said.
The Johnson Center is funded through private donations, companies and individuals, Mendenhall said.
The Free Enterprise Scholars program has goals of offering scholarships, internships, and field trips. Students who become Free Enterprise Scholars will write op-eds, attend monthly events and participate in reading groups.
“Issuing proclamations and instituting policies about social justice, or donating to political causes could result in negative externalities that ultimately harm the ordinary customers that the companies were hoping to serve,” Mendenhall said.
More information about Free Enterprise Scholars will be available on the Johnson Center’s website at the beginning of the fall semester.