A member of the wealthy elite has turned on Black Lives Matter (BLM), questioning their impact and implying that they have made things worse.
John Caudwell, a British billionaire businessman, has revealed “that he is no fan of affirmative action or quotas, and questioned the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement, suggesting that it might have made things worse,” according to reporting by The Blaze.
Caudwell is the founder of U.K. cellphone chain Phones 4u, and claims to be the U.K.’s biggest taxpayer.
While participating in the Times of London‘s Education Commission, Caudwell said that he believes quotas are bad for society, and that meritocracy — the idea that advancement should be based on talent, effort, and achievement — should be the way winners are chosen, not by race and gender.
According to The Blaze, the Times of London’s Education Commission “is looking at whether the nation needs radical change in its education system.”
Members of the commission questioned Caudwell, who supports apprenticeships and is open about his opposition of efforts to “brainwash” students into believing that college degrees are necessary to get good jobs, about supposed pay imbalances between men and women, especially in apprenticeship opportunities.
“I’m not very keen on unbalancing society by having quotas. I always think the best person should win, whether they’re black, white, male or female,” Caudwell told the Times.
“I don’t like positive discrimination,” he added, admitting that “there’s a time and a place where that is beneficial, for instance, post-apartheid in South Africa,” but overall, he believes that “positive discrimination is dangerous for society.”
Positive discrimination, according to Caudwell, “leads to resentment,” which is something he has witnessed “a lot.”
Using the BLM movement as an example, the wealthy businessman asked: “Did Black Lives Matter improve the cause of black people, or did it cause more resentment and more bigotry?”
“And that’s a good debate to have,” Caudwell added.
Rather than using the positive discrimination that is promoted by the left and “woke” society, he believes that cultures should be pushing for creating new opportunities.
“I’m not into positive discrimination but I am into creating opportunities as much as possible for people,” Caudwell said.
I was pleased to speak today to @TimesEducation's #EducationCommission about the importance of apprenticeships and why #kindness should be on the school curriculum.
Thank you to @AnthonySeldon @RealGeoffBarton @dkgillb @NCCollPrincipal and @RSylvesterTimes for your questions. pic.twitter.com/Ixu6NOcgUZ
— John Caudwell (@JohnDCaudwell) July 6, 2021
Unlike the rest of the wealthy elites, who use the message of BLM to pander to woke audiences and profit off of them, it appears that Caudwell isn’t afraid to speak his mind.