The Wolf of Wal-Mart Economic globalization is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “the process by which the whole world becomes a single market.” When it comes to what’s ‘easier said than done’, that takes the cake. But the world, as of 2017, has accomplished that. And a big part of that attainment is due to the global giant, largest existing corporation, and capitalist creation that is Wal-Mart. We should be thankful for Wal-Mart revolutionizing global economics. $485 billion in annual revenue, 91,000 Canadians employed and 2.1 million Americans (which is a full 1% of the American working population of 140 million), 11,695 stores in 28 countries, and one store within a 15-minute drive near every one of the 320 million Americans. However, …show more content…
Firstly, Wal-Mart factory workers in China are operating on machines 7 days a week with schedules starting at 7 am and ending 10 pm as reported by former workers, and are paid approximately $3 a day. When being inspected, they are forced to lie about these conditions, thus no unions have been formed. (Wal-Mart...it’s 2017, not Industrial Revolution London.) However, is that entirely Wal-Mart’s fault, or are the already horrendous worker’s rights in some developing countries where Wal-Mart factories exist to blame? The only thing Wal-Mart is doing is playing by the system’s rules that have poor human rights in developing countries and low corporation regulation in the US. So... is it exclusively Wal-Mart’s fault, or are they where we point the fingers when we don’t want to do that at powerful public officials and governments? However, a true fair criticism is that Wal-Mart’s swift slicing of small and local business is another blow that weakens competition, the main driving force in terms of pricing & quality in a capitalist system. Low prices may attract consumers, but it may also remove competition thus allowing Wal-Mart to do whatever it wants with those prices and the actual quality of their