Woke versus anti-woke debate hots up

The latest candidate to throw his hat in the US presidential ring, Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy, is one of the most voluble antagonists on the anti-woke side

Multi-millionaire tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, 37, who has just declared his candidature for the American presidency has made targeting the “woke” a central plank of his public persona. Even before his presidential bid, Mr Ramaswamy wrote a book titled Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam, which debuted in 2021. It became a New York Times bestseller in no time. In it Mr Ramaswamy argues that corporate America’s pursuit of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals is a complete farce.

His campaign plank focuses on corporate America’s increasing embrace of socially conscious investing. He sees it as hypocrisy that allows