Nobody hates low prices, and pursuing low prices is not a bad thing at all. Especially during recent economic recessions, lower and middle class consumers are eager to save money by purchasing cheaper products. We all learn in our economics class that it is very natural for rational people to buy products that are cheaper than the other. Thus, many people view the prosperity of Walmart as an inevitable consequence of capitalism. However, Walmart has grown so powerful and influential that its obsession with lower price is harming the global society as a whole. Despite the fact that we can’t blame people for pursuing low prices, it is unethical to shop at Walmart. In this essay, I want to explore reasons with solid evidences why the shopping at Walmart is unethical.
To begin, by pursuing low prices society is not benefited economically. In most cases, pursuing low price results in positive consequence by expediting competitions between the firms. Some people bring similar logic to the case of Walmart. For instance, Tom Van Riper wrote in his article “Wal-Mart Is Good for You” that an exchange of goods at low prices benefits everyone and also in the case of Walmart, it seems evident that its model of low prices brings more choice to consumers. But since Walmart is so powerful that it’s almost in the state of monopoly, the low price of Walmart is harmful to the economy. The more ordinary people shop at Walmart, the more local businesses shrink and close down. Thus, it breaks local communities and, as a result, reduces the purchasing power of ordinary consumers. The economic status of a nation depends largely on the household’s ability to buy and consume products. Walmart is making a negative impact on the economy of a nation by destroying the economy of households. As John Lanchester mentioned in his article “The Price of Pickles,” the poverty rate was higher in the counties with Walmart compare to counties without Walmart. Walmart creates and destroys jobs at the same time, and it seems that it’s destroying more jobs than it is creating. To add, Walmart is abusing their monopolistic position to distort the market and expand their business. They are now so powerful that they can even control the price in a market. For instance, as also demonstrated in “The Price of Pickles,” Walmart is selling products like pickles and salmon at such a ridiculously low price to the point that it’s excluding its competitors out of business and creating their own market. The pursuit of short term benefits of consumers is gradually harming the economy in a long term.
Accordingly, shopping at Walmart is currently creating social problems that are not only limited to economic aspects. The biggest issue is violation of human rights. Walmart is so obsessed with price that it is paying less attention (or intentionally ignoring) the basic rights of its employees. Especially, the workers in developing nations who are not under the protection of law are exploited.As “The price of Pickles” mentions, workers in Bangladesh work 14 hours a day and earn only 13 cents per hour. Consumers are deliberately supporting these violations of Walmart by buying their products. Workers in the US are also receiving low wages and not getting any benefit from health insurance.
Furthermore, I want to point out the relationship of Walmart with its subcontractors. Just like many gigantic corporation, many small corporations rely on Walmart. Essentially, five to ten million people worldwide are involved in a deal with Walmart. As stated in Nathan Newman’s “Taking on Walmart and Its Subcontractors,” Walmart is exploiting 20,000 of its subcontractors and creating a global sweatshop. All these problems are rooted on Wal-Mart’s irresponsible obsession with low prices. Any act that sacrifices other people’s happiness for the sake of their own happiness can be blamed as unethical. Buying products at Walmart is not an exception.
To conclude, consumers must realize there are several reasons why buying products at Walmart is not ethical. Shopping at Walmart is surely convenient and practical, but it is selfish and irresponsible at the same time. In order to stop the side effects that Walmart is making, consumers can either wait for Walmart to change their price-centered policy or actively take part in the movement by avoiding unethical consumption. Considering the fact that the company’s tradition and management philosophy is very firm since its foundation, it is highly unlikely that Walmart would change its policy. No matter how powerful Walmart is, their success and policy depends on its consumers. By avoiding unethical consumptions, we can be responsible consumers.
Works Cited
Lanchester, John. "The Price of Pickles." London Review of Books 22 June 2006. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.
Riper, Tom V. "Wal-Mart Is Good For You." Forbes.com 10 Jan. 2008. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.
Newman, Nathan. "TAKING ON WAL-MART AND ITS SUBCONTRACTORS." NATHAN NEWMAN 1 June 2004. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기