Boycott ‘Evil’ Corporations?

For many years I have had different Catholic friends tell me they were boycotting this store or that brand because of the evil they represent. Part of me was sympathetic to their ‘cause’ but part of me has always been baffled by this kind of political action.

What do businesses really have to do with politics and religion? And how does boycotting a business help the ‘cause’? “Determining what to do in specific instances involves making a proportional judgment in two areas: how grave is the evil in question, and how close is the cooperation with it?” This is a great quote for the following, well written article on the subject:

NC Register, Jonathan Liedl: “The topic of boycotting is increasingly prevalent in Catholic circles these days, spurred on as powerful corporations like Disney and Amazon use their wealth and reach to promote problematic ideologies and practices in the wider culture. 

“Boycotting, of course, is nothing new in Catholic circles. 300,000 Philadelphia Catholics signed a pledge to boycott movie theaters in 1934 after their cardinal archbishop described the locales as “perhaps the greatest menace to faith and morals in America today.” In the 1960s, the Catholic labor leader Cesar Chavez led boycotts of the California grape industry over unjust labor practices. And more recently, the Diocese of Columbus joined a 2021 boycott of the fast-food chain Wendy’s in an effort to bring about better pay and conditions for farm workers.”

Continue reading this article here.