19 May 2003
Wal-Mart Culture

A rather disturbing article - capitalism meets culture. Capitalism wins. I find it more than a bit amusing that the conservative ideologues that trumpet this as a "triumph of the marketplace", because they see it as nothing more than the stores catering to customer demand, are the same folks who preach the "supply side" as economic policy, where the manufacturers and distributors are seen as driving demand, rather than vice-versa. It seems that they want to have their cake and eat it, too.

Shaping Cultural Tastes at Big Retail Chains. Wal-Mart and the other big discount chains have bent American popular culture toward the tastes of their traditionalist customers. By David D. Kirkpatrick. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

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