Anyone else noticing a political shift away from liberalism and toward centrism among your MBA classmates, especially after the 2024 election?

I’m curious if anyone else has noticed this, but it feels like there’s been a real shift in the vibe among my MBA classmates since the 2024 election. For context, I’m a 2nd year full-time student at a top MBA program, and my school has a long-standing reputation for leaning pretty liberal socially and politically.

When I started last year, people seemed really focused on social impact and progressive causes. A lot of classmates talked about wanting careers in things like ESG, impact investing, nonprofit consulting (e.g., Bridgespan), or climate tech. Even those pursuing more traditional post-MBA roles like CPG Brand Management spoke about ways they'd help advance diversity.

Slack profiles were full of pronouns, and Instagram stories supporting issues like gun control, abortion rights, or DEI were ubiquitous. Even in class Slack channels, posts on liberal causes would get tons of upvotes. Everyone would use terms like "LatinX." People would share Black-owned businesses and restaurants in the area to support. Students would recommended TV shows, movies, or books that leaned into the experiences of marginalized people.

At orientation last year, which was run by 2nd years and staff members, we had DEI sessions that included discussions on microaggressions, land acknowledgments, and early Consortium hiring. All were publicly supported, and enthusiastically so. Workshops on destigmatizing mental health and being personally vulnerable were a big thing too. People openly supported DEI, and questioning it in any way was seen as taboo. Some discussions, like those on racism or misogyny in business, were often preceded by public trigger warnings. Student-led discussions on systemic racism were common on campus.

On more than one occasion, students publicly eviscerated out long-standing, tenured professors for accidentally using the wrong "unwoke" terminology or not keeping up with the latest PC trend. The Israel-Palestine issue in particular divided our campus, and it was complex as many liberals are split on the issue.

In the Fall, a huge number of 1st & 2nd years traveled to swing states to campaign for Kamala Harris. There were also a lot of events held on campus like phone banking for Harris as well as Democratic gubernatorial and congressional candidates. People talked about being picky with job applications, and not pursuing summer internships or full time roles at companies who have conservative CEOs or donate to conservative causes. Students would research which brands were more "conscientious."

Fast forward to the post Nov 2024 election landscape and it’s a totally different story. People who used to talk about social impact careers are now openly admitting they’re in it for the money. They’re gunning for MBB, IB, or tech PM jobs and talking about trying to stick it out for partner or making millions. That whole “do good for the world” vibe feels like it’s taken a back seat to ruthless capitalism. People are more honest about being self-interested and their desire for personal advancement.

It’s not like most people have gone straight-up conservative, or even become Republicans. I'd say the vast majority of peers still genuinely oppose Trump and Trumpism. Most still support gay marriage, abortion rights, etc. MBA types tend to be in favor of free trade, and thus oppose Trump's tariffs. Most also oppose mass deportations.

But the overt political energy, performative activism, and virtue signaling have definitely cooled off. For example:

• People are more willing to talk about the flaws in DEI, like how it sometimes benefits the most privileged within underrepresented groups.
• Jokes are edgier now: stuff about racial stereotypes are more acceptable and even the word “retarded” gets thrown around more.
• Many people have removed pronouns on their Slack and Instagram profiles (Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did something similar on X)
• There’s a bigger emphasis on personal responsibility, with some classmates saying certain personal issues are better suited for professional therapy than oversharing with peers. "Vulnerability culture" is being scaled back to avoid "trauma-dumping."
• Classmates are openly pro-police now when many were pro-BLM and criminal justice reform before. People support "tough-on-crime" policies. Also, people are very anti-homeless now.
• Conversations about things like trans rights are more nuanced: things like irreversible surgeries for minors or trans women competing in women’s sports are being debated, even by some LGBTQ+ classmates.

The overall culture feels more “normal,” for lack of a better word. People are talking about the NFL or basketball instead of protesting over Gaza, Ukraine, or other hot-button issues. I remember in our first year there were conversations about perhaps not watching football anymore due to CTE concerns, and that's all gone now. Even things like differing hygiene standards among some international students, which people avoided criticizing before for fear of being called racist, are being talked about more honestly.

I’ve also noticed some female friends are more open about wanting traditionally masculine partners instead of the “sensitive and sweet” guys they used to say they preferred. It feels like there’s been a cultural reset, maybe influenced by broader shifts in society and the business world. Companies cutting back on DEI and ESG programs or formerly liberal tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, and Marc Benioff donating to Trump’s 2025 inauguration might be part of it. This also mirrors Meta's recent moves away from content moderation toward "free speech," embracing more of Elon Musk's ethos as X.

This is a huge reversal from the late 2010s and early 2020s era where companies nonstop publicly and forcefully announced their support of social causes, such as Black Lives Matter, gender equality, and LGBTQIA+ rights. Yet despite companies now shifting rapidly in the other direction, my classmates still want to work for Meta, OpenAI, Amazon, and Salesforce.

Even being openly conservative isn’t the social death sentence it was before. Cancel culture and deplatforming seems to have lost its steam. It’s like people have shifted from the social progressivism of 2016–2024 to the more centrist liberal vibe that the Democrats of the 1990s and 2000s had. There's less of a focus on identity politics and the culture wars. Maybe it’s introspection on the ways "wokeness" went to far, or maybe moderates are just feeling freer to speak up. Either way, politics feels way less divisive and polarized now.

Is anyone else noticing this shift at their school? Would love to hear what’s happening at other programs.