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The People's Republic of Walmart
How the World’s Biggest Corporations are Laying the Foundation for Socialism
Series: Jacobin
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Check link for latest rating. ( 2,061 ratings, 293 reviews)
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Since the demise of the USSR, the mantle of the largest planned economies in the world has been taken up by the likes of Walmart, Amazon and other multinational corporations.
Are Nike, Amazon and Walmart preparing the ground for international socialism?
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
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Description
For the left and the right, major multinational companies are held up as the ultimate expressions of free market competition. Their remarkable success vindicates the old idea that our modern societies are too large, too complex and difficult, to be subjected to a plan. For good or ill, in the 21st century, only the distributed feedback systems of the market can distribute resources.
And yet, as Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski argue, late capitalism already operates by central planning. The sheer economic weight of multinational, corporate giants means that the decision making of its owners decides the fate of virtually everyone else downstream of them, shaping the fortunes of much of the world. Not only is planning possible, we already have it. Except all the power is concentrated in the hands of a selfish few.
Against the dictatorship of capital, The People’s Republic of Walmart is a clarion call for a return to collective decision making in all matters economic. It champions economic planning, a forgotten lodestar for the Left and its vision of an alternative future. With the rise of new computational systems and new capacities for massive, collective enterprises, democratically organizing the economic in the interest of human need rather than in the interests of profit is as great as it ever has been.
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The People's Republic of Walmart
For the left and the right, major multinational companies are held up as the ultimate expressions of free market competition. Their remarkable success vindicates the old idea that our modern societies are too large, too complex and difficult, to be subjected to a plan. For good or ill, in the 21st century, only the distributed feedback systems of the market...PaperbackSold Out
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The People's Republic of Walmart is praised for being a provocative and energetic exploration, challenging the notion that free markets are always superior. The authors provide a timely analysis, offering an intriguing perspective on the potential for democratic and socialist planning within capitalism, highlighting how large corporations like Walmart exemplify the scale of planned enterprise.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781786635167
Publisher: Verso Books
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 05 March 2019
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Verso Books
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 16.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 207g
Pages: 256
About the Author
Leigh Philips is a science writer and EU affairs journalist. He is the author of Austerity Ecology & the Collapse-Porn Addicts. Michal Rozworski is a Toronto-based union researcher and writer. He blogs at Political Eh-conomy and has been published in Jacobin, Ricochet, The Toronto Star, and Briarpatch Magazine.
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