Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community

The Prospect of Planet Wal-Mart: Why We Should Care and What We Can Do A Socio-Ethical Commentary by Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community By this time, we are all aware of just how hard it is to find consumer products that are not made in China. We know these products sell because of their low prices. Still, we are troubled by the ethics of corporations who would exploit people and the environment to bring us cheap goods. The 2003 UUA Statement of Conscience on Economic Globalization challenges UUs to "turn from self-serving individualism toward a relational sense of ourselves in a global community and toward practices that help create economic structures designed to serve the common good." By reason of this challenge, the spreading Wal-Martization of the planet should cause us to think and act. No less a concern than global economic justice is at stake. This year, UUJEC has chosen to focus its action campaign on how Wal-Mart and other big box retailers are restructuring the global economy entirely for their profit. The campaign's goal is to encourage UUs to take specific, powerful actions that prevent big box retailing from profiting from injustice. Wal-Mart Good for People? Wal-Mart would have us believe that it only gives us what we want: everyday low prices. Left unsaid is that we pay for these "bargains" many times over in social and environmental losses. The reality is that Wal-Mart uses its market power to impoverish workers, take over communities, and create dependency on its "low prices". It is true that for many people Wal-Mart is the answer to how to make ends meet. But poor people do not necessarily shop at Wal-Mart because they want to, but because they have to. And they have to because they can't afford not to, considering the below poverty level wages they make. Such wages depend, in turn, on the standard set by the nation's largest private employer Wal-Mart. Moreover, in many communities, Wal-Mart has made sure it is the only place to shop. Using predatory pricing, Wal-Mart forces smaller community-based businesses to close. For poor communities with no other choices of where to buy essentials, Wal-Mart is the modern-day equivalent of the slave plantation store. But it is not just poor people that shop at Wal-Mart. Sadly, Wal-Mart and other big box retailers entangle us all in our own desire for more. When we decide where to shop based solely on how much things cost at the cash register, we have forsaken our moral responsibility for understanding how our economic choices affect others in an interconnected world. This disconnection allows Wal-Mart and its ilk to profit shamelessly from violating all commonly-held ethical standards. The Face of Globalization: Wal-Mart and Big Box Retailing Wal-Mart's business model depends on imperiling the planet and oppressing people for profitability. Here are but a few of the facts: 1. Every year, Wal-Mart mandates a 5% drop in its suppliers' prices for standardized products, forcing suppliers to outsource production to low-wage countries. 2. Wal-Mart is China's 8th biggest trading partner. Over 70% of the commodities sold in Wal-Mart come from China. Typical work days in China's factories are 12 to 18 hours long at reported pay levels of 3 to 10 cents an hour. 3. More than 70% of Wal-Mart's U.S. workers are women, most of whom earn less than the federal poverty wage guidelines for a family of three. 4. Wal-Mart makes a profit of $20,000 every minute. What do these facts add up to? The pattern of Wal-Mart's abuses goes beyond its questionable business practices, or even the moral responsibility of its top officers, to incarnate systemic injustice. We see a corporation that not only is ruthless, but that has also become the template for expanding corporate control of the world's resources. In sum, Wal-Mart is the face of economic globalization in our communities. Understanding Wal-Mart's abuses as systemic is critical to understanding what is to be done. As long as we limit the problem to Wal-Mart's individual responsibility, we will not question the system that gives rise to economic injustice. This is the same kind of reasoning that argues that the torture at Abu Ghraib was the work of a few "bad apples" or that workers who have lost their livelihoods to globalization should be glad for sweatshop jobs. We must not fall into the trap of thinking, "If only Wal-Mart would behave nicely", when the system rewards its bad behavior. Already Target and other big box retailers are copying Wal-Mart's example. Taking Action UUJEC's vision is to ignite the passion for justice within the heart of every UU by channeling it into strategic actions that make a difference in people's lives. In the case of Wal-Mart, we can make a huge difference. Already, hundreds of communities across the country have successfully blocked Wal-Mart from coming into town and taking over. Many UUs have been involved in these efforts. Also exciting are the many new state and local initiatives aimed at holding Wal-Mart accountable. For example, the New Jersey legislature passed a law that would require proposed big box stores to undergo economic impact reviews. Other states are looking to curb subsidies to Wal-Mart and requiring them to provide affordable health care insurance. Another important focus in challenging the Wal-Martization of our economy is the struggle for workers' rights. But Wal-Mart is also a creature of the prevailing economic order. Seeking justice, we must also consider actions to address income inequality, rampant consumerism, and growth for growth's sake. As people of conscience, we must speak out against Wal-Mart using slave labor to subsidize our consumption in order to guarantee their profits. And we must begin to ask what economic practices embody our UU values. An economy "designed to serve the common good" prospers through sustainable community development that does not privilege big corporations. It gives people decision-making power in their community's economic life. It success is measured in decent wage jobs, meaningful work, and economic security not corporate profits. It empowers the community to take care of its own without harm to the other side of the world. It is premised on generosity, not greed, cooperation, not competition. A just economy indeed serves the common good. This is why we must reject Wal-Mart's self-serving creed as a model for economic development. The choice is to take a stand for economic justice or live under the rule of a planet Wal-Mart. printer friendly copy