Commentary: Big Tent Ideas

RHYEN STALEY: Meet The Left’s Trendy New Buzzword, And What It Really Means

Jesper Sehested Pluslexia.com

Despots and tyrants covet power and control above all else. It is an obsession, their One Ring, their “precious.” This unending thirst for dominance manifests in various forms, from the bold schemes of power-hungry rulers to the subtle maneuvers of ideological zealots.

And now, a new weapon has emerged in their arsenal: brain capital.

Take, for instance, the recent resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay. While her departure may seem like a simple administrative change to some, the reaction from leftists tells a different story. The meltdown and gnashing of teeth over Gay’s exit are not about her maintaining her position as a professor or her hefty salary of $900,000. Instead, the real “tragedy,” according to the left, lies in the loss of prestige, power, and control.

But even as leftists lick their wounds and regroup, they refuse to yield their grip on power. Their allies lob pejoratives and insults at dissenters, all while strategizing their next move. In their eyes, they are on the brink of achieving absolute control.

Recently on Glenn Beck’s TV and radio shows, he shared video of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) head Jen Easterly hinting at the next frontier for advancing the left’s agenda. She emphasized the importance of “cognitive infrastructure,” framing it as critical to “resilience”—a subtle nod to the growing brain capital movement.

“Brain capital,” defined by lead scientist Harris Eyre and associates as the “the brain skills, knowledge, and optimal health that people accumulate throughout their lives,” is being pitched as a tool to further advance the agendas of the United Nations and the World Economic Forum. In November 2023, Eyre stated at a Wharton School conference, “’we need a new economic asset called brain capital, that we value in the United States as important as GDP, and as important as road infrastructure.’”

According to proponents like Eyre, brain capital is under siege from threats such as “climate change” and “disinformation.” The solution, they argue, lies in regulating and controlling individuals using standards set forth by academia and distant bureaucrats.

In recent years, brain capital has been pitched as the key to realizing The Great Reset and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Proponents advocate for its incorporation into frameworks like environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, effectively subjecting every aspect of life to bureaucratic scrutiny.

Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy has even gone so far as to publish a paper titled How Brain Capital Can Drive Progress on UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. In it, the authors propose collecting extensive data on students, promoting activism, and enforcing ideological conformity in schools—all under the guise of fostering mental health and cultivating brain capital.

A more misguided agenda for our schools could hardly be imagined.

America’s public schools are struggling to teach basic skills like reading and math, yet they’re being co-opted into the brain capital agenda. Companies like Kooth Digital Health, an active agent of the brain capital movement, are already embedding themselves in schools. For instance, California has agreed to a $188 million deal to use their services across the state, and Pennsylvania is piloting Kooth’s offerings in 30 of its school districts.

What’s worse, proponents of brain capital are now seeking to elevate their influence to the federal level, advocating for the establishment of a “White House Brain Capital Council.” This proposed executive office would coordinate policiesacross sectors ranging from human development to immigration and climate change—effectively consolidating power in the hands of a select few.

This agenda represents a wholesale assault on individual autonomy and freedom, replacing it with a web of regulations and mandates. Should those who desire absolute power capture the policymaking process under the guise of “brain capital,” they gain control over everything.

But there is hope. Across the country, from parents at school board meetings to billionaires taking on the rot in Ivy League universities, the pushback against critical race theory, queer theory, DEI, ESG, and other bullying tactics has put leftists and neo-Marxists on the defensive. They understand that the fight against brain capital is not just about education or economics—it’s a battle for the soul of our nation.

We must reject the notion that academics and bureaucrats know what is best for the individual and put trust back in the American people. Only then can we hope to preserve our freedoms.

Rhyen Staley is a researcher for Parents Defending Education. He holds a master’s degree in elementary education and has over a decade of classroom experience in both public and private schools.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.