Yes to Koch, No to Woke: Public Opinion, Free Markets, and Business Involvement in Politics

Abstract In this paper, we use data from the 2022 Cooperative Election Study to explore the relationship between partisanship, attitudes toward free markets, and corporate social responsibility. We find that while Republicans continue to express abstract support for free markets and business involvement in politics, they respond negatively to more specific descriptions of CEO activism, particularly when that activism is directed toward environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Overall, individual support for business involvement in politics depends on the noneconomic impact of corporate behavior. In this respect, our findings echo the literature on political tolerance: abstract support for free markets slips when applied to specific environmental, social, and governance contexts. Within this context, “business involvement in politics,” which Republicans support, translates into “corporate political activity,” which Republicans oppose.