() Republican this, Democrat that. What about the Libertarians? Journalist John Stossel is a proponent of individual freedom, and he says government-mandated diversity, equity and inclusion requirements go against that.
“Diversity does make us stronger, but not diversity that is forced. I’m a Libertarian. Force is bad. And DEI has become about force,” Stossel said.
In an hour-long exclusive special titled “John Stossel: Give Me Liberty,” Stossel examined DEI, among other topics. He said the market should dictate how diverse an industry will be.
Stossel, who has been warning about DEI policies for nearly a decade, said he was surprised at how quickly the pendulum has swung back against such programs, even before President Donald Trump’s election victory.
The programs went wrong by becoming about force rather than voluntary inclusion, he argued, leaving workers afraid to speak freely in the workplace.
“It was captured by the left, and it made people afraid to talk to people who were different from them,” Stossel said.
When asked if the system could really be merit-based, Stossel responded: “Yeah, I think it ought to be. And certainly if you’re running a business, you care about succeeding.”
“The beauty of the free market is that if those people aren’t as good, those companies lose out. If a company is racist, word gets out. A lot of us won’t go to that company. The market protects people, too,” he said.
’s Damita Menezes contributed to this report.
