it’s All Around Podcast 002: The Big Box, a response
This is a response to The Diary of a Cartoonist Episode 144, in which Scott Johnson muses on the common controversy surrounding WalMart. I recommend you listen to his podcast (~10 minutes long) before you listen to this response.
For me, the issue isn't about the free market vs. regulation or capitalism vs socialism, it's about human behavior. The rise of WalMart is perhaps the clearest example of one of the greatest human tragedies of our time.
The presence of WalMart, especially in already underprivileged areas, extracts wealth out of communities and destroys all sorts of jobs while offering only sub living wage, short term labor.
Ultimately, people are driven to act against their best interests because they are either lack education or aren't paying attention.
In the end WalMart is here to stay, along with many other monopolistic victors of capitalism. But, as individuals, we shouldn't justify their existence on this fact alone.
Let me know what you think