The redefined role—announced at a time when many people are worried about a recession and their portfolios—is promoting an economy that serves all Americans.

The new principles were memorialized in a Business Roundtable statement that could be called "woke capitalism." If the rollout is handled properly, it might even convince some millennials—and members of the U.S. Congress—that corporations aren't all evil.

Corporate leaders at companies such as Amazon.com (ticker: AMZN), Apple (AAPL), BlackRock (BLK), and Walmart (WMT) signed the Roundtable's statement on "the purpose of a corporation." It's great to know that masters of corporate politics recognize that others are struggling to get by, that hard work is often unrewarded, and that not enough is being done to help workers adjust to the changes.