ESG Was Never the Problem — Our Economic Addiction Is.
(Part 1 of 3 in the series: “Beyond ESG: How Short-Termism, Techno-Feudalism, and Systemic Denial Threaten the Future”)
Over the past year, many have declared the death of ESG investing. Record outflows from ESG funds, consumer preference for cheap products over sustainable alternatives, and growing political attacks — especially from the United States — seem to confirm it.
But blaming ESG itself for these failures is a profound mistake — convenient for some, dangerous for all. I remember talking to my friend, who said that ESG is an opportunity, but mostly for making money, until it was dressed as a really unattractive old lady. What really ejected ESG out of its orbit?
ESG Is a Necessary Evolution — If Done Right
I write this not as an outsider but as a believer in ESG’s transformative potential. Through Neuroagencija’s ESG advocacy and numerous professional articles, I have long argued that ESG is not a passing trend — it is a practical framework for future-proofing companies, economies, and societies.
The idea behind ESG remains fundamentally sound. What failed was not the vision — but our execution, corrupted by short-termism, political sabotage, managerial resistance, and systemic addiction to infinite growth.
The Real Reasons Behind ESG’s Challenges
1. Short-Term Investor Logic
ESG was marketed as a quick-win strategy. Seriously? Once early operational efficiencies and green marketing advantages were exhausted, financial support faded. What do you do when you have trouble breathing?
A Slovenian fund manager openly captured this mentality:
“ESG is just paper bullshit. It burdens us and slows us down. It will never become reality” But slowing reckless decision-making and introducing resilience was the point — not a flaw.
2. Consumer Behavioral Contradictions
Despite surveys showing public support for sustainability, consumer behavior favors low-cost goods. Human beings are not inherently good, but they emerge as selfish beings. For their gain they are willing to trample anything. Just think of black Friday’s openings. Platforms like Temu and Shein (reported by Business of Fashion) grew precisely because consumers prioritize price over principles.
3. Political and Financial Sabotage — Primarily from the United States
In the US, ESG became a target of ideological warfare. Multiple states (Texas, Florida, West Virginia) passed laws penalizing ESG investing (Financial Times). In response, major asset managers, including BlackRock and Vanguard, softened or reversed ESG commitments (Business Insider)
4. Structural Delusion About Infinite Growth
Despite warnings from IPCC reports and ecological economists (e.g., Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics framework), leading economies — led by the G’s (US, China, India, Germany, France, Israel, Russia, and the UK) — continue promoting infinite GDP growth as a sign of success.
Global economic models still operate under the dangerous myth that growth can be infinite. Reality, biology, and ecology all say otherwise. We live in one of the most stupid eras of human history – all information is literally in our hands, and we are still ignoring it. Because we don’t like them… or are not supporting our hallucinations.
5. The Rise of Global Militarization and War Economies
Recent data shows a dramatic rise in military spending globally (SIPRI, 2024 Report). War economies are fundamentally incompatible with sustainability: they prioritize arms production, extraction, and short-term survival, destroying the structural environment ESG requires.
In a world sliding into militarization, serious ESG becomes nearly impossible to maintain. The Big ones have unveiled their real and true interest: more and more and more. Control and Power. And of course, resources.
6. Ownership and Managerial Resistance: The Core Obstacle
At the heart of ESG’s collapse is not consumer hypocrisy or political sabotage alone — it is deep-rooted resistance from owners and managers themselves.
- Many corporate owners and fund managers view ESG not as a strategic investment in future resilience, but as an administrative burden, compliance theater, or even a threat to traditional power structures.
- A Slovenian fund manager candidly summed up the sentiment when he stated: “ESG is just paper bullshit. It burdens us and slows us down.“
This view is far from isolated:
- A Baker Tilly survey showed that 21% of companies view Europe’s ESG reporting requirements (CSRD) as a burden with little additional value. (Governance Intelligence, 2024)
- Warren Buffett himself dismissed ESG as “asinine,” implying that sustainability goals are incompatible with traditional shareholder value maximization. (Reuters)
- Desiree Fixler, a former ESG executive at DWS, described ESG internally as “an unnecessary bureaucratic burden” — a view widely shared but rarely admitted publicly among financial leaders. (Financial News London)
This managerial resistance stems from two fundamental tensions:
- Short-Term Profit Pressure: Owners demand quarterly results. Anything that delays returns is seen as a liability, not an investment.
- Power Dynamics: ESG frameworks often demand transparency, accountability, and ethical recalibration — all of which dilute traditional centralized power and unchecked executive control.
In simple terms: ESG failed not because it was wrong — but because it challenged the operating comfort zone of those who control capital.
Until owners and executives genuinely internalize that resilience is more valuable than reckless speed, ESG principles — or any future form of responsible capitalism — will remain vulnerable to sabotage from within.
Europe’s Missed Opportunity
The EU initially attempted to weaponize ESG against money laundering, corporate corruption, and irresponsible governance. It was one of the boldest regulatory visions Europe ever conceived to get ahead of criminal business conduct. Missing trade, intentional destruction of businesses, not being accountable for misconduct, etc. For example, the Slovenian petrol selling company has missing trading for about 2.5 billion Euros, and no one seems to care about it.
But fragmented execution and lobbying pressures diluted its impact.
Meanwhile, major governance failures continued:
- Slovenia: €2.5 billion suspicious fuel trading scandal largely ignored (Dnevnik).
- Poland (Orlen): $330 million loss over undelivered Venezuelan oil (Wikipedia – Orlen SA).
- Trafigura (Switzerland): $500 million Mongolian fraud (Reuters).
- Italy: €300 million VAT fraud dismantled by EPPO (European Public Prosecutor’s Office).
- French Banks: €2.5 billion dividend tax fraud (Reuters).
- EU Carbon Market: €5 billion carbon credit fraud (Europol).
But through bureaucratic overreach, internal fragmentation, and external US financial pressure, the EU disemboweled its own ambition — reducing ESG to a checklist exercise.
The Digital Wild West: AI, Tech Giants, and the Collapse of Governance
What the traditional financial scandals reveal is troubling. What the digital future exposes is catastrophic.
We are entering a wild, unregulated digital frontier, where:
- Transparency is collapsing. AI systems make decisions even their creators cannot fully explain.
- Accountability is eroding. Tech leaders frame regulation as an obstacle to “progress.”
- Power is hyper-concentrating. A handful of individuals control critical communication, AI infrastructure, and even finance.
Take the trajectory of Elon Musk:
- He controls Starlink (global satellite internet), X (formerly Twitter), major investments in AI (xAI), and brain-interface technologies (Neuralink).
- He openly mocks regulatory efforts.
- He frames any form of societal oversight as “the enemy of innovation.”
This is the real emerging risk: Without a rapid evolution of governance, the next scandals won’t involve billions — they’ll involve entire societies destabilized by unregulated digital monopolies.
Without serious oversight of digital and AI ecosystems, the concept of “responsible business” will become meaningless.
Beyond Musk: The Rise of Techno-Feudalism
The deeper issue is not just Elon Musk’s contradictions. The broader problem is the emergence of technofeudalism — a system where private tech empires outpace governance, privatize essential infrastructures, and undermine societal cohesion.
Across industries:
- Bezos monopolizes physical and digital logistics while avoiding meaningful labor protections.
- Zuckerberg dominates global attention ecosystems without safeguarding democratic discourse.
- Thiel advances mass surveillance and militarization under the guise of innovation.
- AI monopolists accelerate mass deployment of untested technologies, externalizing societal risks.
This new techno-feudal elite views societal systems not as interdependent commons, but as platforms for domination and extraction. And the price will always pay… Humanity.
And no —
It’s not simply about mining lithium or replacing gas with electricity. It’s about replacing diverse, resilient systems with fragile, centralized control architectures — justified by the language of innovation.
Without deep systemic reform — governance of AI, digital infrastructure, resource supply chains, and power — the transition to a “green” or “sustainable” economy will be nothing more than a rebranding of extractive, predatory systems under new logos.
So, What Now?
Ignoring ESG principles may boost quarterly profits today — but it magnifies systemic risk tomorrow.
The fundamental question is simple:
Is business only about extraction, or is it also about ensuring continuity and stability?
If leadership refuses to evolve, nature, resource depletion, political collapse, and ecological limits will do it instead.
Closing Thought
Business as usual is no longer an option.
ESG’s death is not a victory for rationality. It is a warning that short-term thinking still dominates — even when collapse is clearly visible on the horizon.
The question is no longer whether ESG is dead. The question is whether humanity can survive without learning from its failure.