[lbo-talk] Wal-Mart

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Fri Dec 3 06:19:35 PST 2004


John Thornton wrote:


>How is Wal-Mart the new Ford?

As symbols of their respective times. Ford symbolized mass production, higher wages tied to rising productivity, and mass consumption based on those higher wages. Wal-Mart symbolizes mass retailing, discounting, vicious management of the supply chain, and capital capturing all the rise in productivity because the wages suck. Ford also represented the male breadwinner; Wal-Mart, the economy where everyone has to work, including the women, because the wages suck.

Doug



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