Class Warfare and Wal-Mart
Interesting article from the Mises Institute on Class Warfare and Wal Mart. A lot of well-worn ground here, but I particularly liked the discussion of how of different retailers that are essentially similar in their business practices (e.g., Target and Wal Mart) receive different levels of popular/political opprobrium based on the target audiences they market & cater to:
“One can buy discount paper towels and dog food at both Target and Wal-Mart at similar prices while being served by minimum wage workers. Yet, few would confuse the two stores. One is simply more charming than the other from the point of view of those who are prone to have contempt for discount retailers, so Target becomes a place where a congressman’s twenty-something children (if not the congressman himself) might actually shop. In their minds, however, Wal-Mart remains relegated to the realm of the impoverished and unstylish. The fact that Wal-Mart is perceived as useless by those with money and power has, not surprisingly, led to political problems for the retailer.”
I remember that apologists for Nike used to point to the identical business practices of the competitors (Adidas for instance) as an justification of their poor business practices. I didn’t buy it then, and I don’t buy it now.
However, the reformist nature of the anti-Walmart campaign, the anti-Nike campaign, and all the other anti-corporate movements that target specific corporations to the exclusion of the basic problem is worth pointing out. Still, trying to make poor old Walmart out as a victim of its class identity is pure sophistry.
… trying to make poor old Walmart out as a victim of its class identity is pure sophistry.
See, that’s where I’m not sure I agree. If (as the writer argues, and I’m not educated enough on the topic to comment definitively) both Wal Mart and Target *do* have business practices that are roughly equal in “badness”, then don’t you see a class component at play in the resounding vilification of Wal Mart vs. the kind of indulgent “they may be exploiters but aren’t their boxes cute?” tolerance enjoyed by Target?
I have to insist that Wal Mart is not a victim, and that this essay is trying to make Wal Mart into something noble.
“In spite of what any pundit or city councilperson says, Wal-Mart has long served its low-income customers well, and it has improved the lives of many by making food, toys, tools, and clothing more affordable for millions.”
This could be taken from a Walmart press release.
I’m not denying that on a consumer level middle-class people sneer at Wal-mart as too low class for the real quality consumer, but to claim that those who criticize Wal Mart for its poor labor practices locally and slave labor abroad are snobs is specious, and purposefully so. I’m reminded of the Bush Sr. railing against the “intellectual elite” who dare to criticize the conservative agenda.
The reason Wal Mart is selected as the poster child of retailer malfeasance is because its so large and because it is, in fact, so malfeasant.