Ron DeSantis: ‘Corporatism Is Not the Same as Free Enterprise’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Sunday said the mentality held by some Republicans needs to change when it comes to corporations, reminding the GOP that “corporatism is not the same as free enterprise.”

Speaking at the National Conservatism conference in Miami, the Florida governor beat back commonly-held beliefs, casting his vision for how Republicans should view big business and the economy in modern America.

“The lesson for people on the right is, I think there was a generation of people, that kind of the muscle memory was just if it’s private, just defer to it. If it’s a corporate and let them do kind of what they want to do,” he said.

“Because, you know, look, we don’t want to micromanage different things in the economy. I’m not I’m not a central planner. I certainly don’t want to I don’t want to be doing that, but corporatism is not the same as free enterprise,” he continued, triggering applause.

“And I think too many Republicans have used limited government to basically mean whatever is best for corporate America is how we want to do the economy,” he said, explaining that he personally believes that free enterprise is the best economic system.

“But that is a means to an end. It’s a means to having a good fulfilling life and a prosperous society. It’s not an end in and of itself, but we need to make sure that we have that firmly in mind,” he warned.

“The United States is a nation that has an economy, not the other way around, and our economy should be geared towards helping our own people,” the governor added:

“Corporatism is not the same as free enterprise…the United States is a nation that has an economy, not the other way around.”

-Governor DeSantis speaking at #natcon3 pic.twitter.com/Np2C7jVQGP

— Megan Basham (@megbasham) September 12, 2022

This is far from the first time DeSantis has spoken on this issue, tackling the issue of woke corporations in the Sunshine State over the last year. 

“Americans are sick of some of these companies and their stupid activism and they wanted somebody to stand up, they wanted somebody to stand up and say, no, we’re not gonna let you distort our political process here in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said during the Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors National Summit in Tampa in July, explaining that the left uses corporate America to push through radical agenda items that fail at the ballot box. His administration has tried to push back, including with the passage of the Stop WOKE Act, although it has faced legal challenges. 

“This is an important issue because it raises the question of, you know, who governs society?” he asked during a press conference later that month. “Do we govern ourselves through our Constitution and through our elections or do we have these masters of the universe occupying these commanding heights of society?”