walmart goes communist for china

Giggle...

Can you imagine what would be said by the so-called patriots on this board, and in this forum, were this any other organization cultivating this type of relationship with theis aspect of China?

The extent that there is silence from that quarter is the extent to which they ARE the "Human=economic man or woman" equation that cripples their POV on other issues.

 

ASF...just stop.

You KNOW that if MOveOn.org or any such organization were ESTABLISHING BRANCHES OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY WITHIN THEIR ESTABLISHMENT IN ORDER TO "DO BUSINESS" IN CHINA THAT THE SO-CALLED PATRIOTIC ON THIS BOARD WOULD HAVE THEM WEARING THEIR GUTS FOR GARTERS IF THEY COULD.

The ONLY reason that folks LIKE THAT are going to let this go is because Wal-Mart is so ********ing rich; which, again, DEMONSTRATES where the REAL values of these folks lie...Not with humanity and its condition, but with CONCEIVING of humanity AS comprised OF Economic, commodifiable components, and EXPLOITING that.

That's the only reason Wal-Mart would be "admired," and the only reason that they would escape in THIS circumstance the type of criticism ANY OTHER ORGANIZATION would be crushed under.

* Note, to be fair, ther are some rabid patriots I know in my wife's family who have abandoned Wal-Mart altogether, but they are generally from the WWII era, and are possessed of the actual experience - no the bullshit talk, but the actual experience - of building post-war communities, and now watching those communities disintegrate as the Wal-Marts and Home Depots move in to depress wages, localize all costs and externalize most benefits. That era of folks does understand that. And this, for them , is just another nail in the coffin for Wal-Mart.

The group below that, the group of adults that grew up durign the war but were too young to remember any of it or to fight in it; that group, in my experience? They shop there. Remember though, this is the group that also bought everything the stores offered in the 70s, for their kids, regardless of any impacts such products had; they were the first true generation raised ON that consumer Golden Age, the first generation to be, defintively, profligate.

And they have set the tone, those baby boomers, for the rest of us.

Nonetheles, even those baby boomers MUST concede, as YOU must, that there are all KINDS of companies and organization that, if they were to install a branch of the Communist Party within their own organiations in order to do business with China, would be ripped from here to high heaven, REGARDLESS OF INTENT!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Typical American ignorance.

Go ask families in the mid east who they think the murderers are. Idiot.

 

(1) Worshipping "the devil" and facilitating him...the difference?

(2) Do you really believe Wal-Mart isn't a political organization? I'll put it this way; which organization has more impact upon, and influence with, the current Administration, Wal-Mart or Moveon.org? I understand that thier open, stated "goal" - Walmart's - is ot simply make as much money as possible, but to insinuate that Wal-Mart is different from Moveon in that the latter is a political ogranization - as if Walmart isn't - is a bit dishonest.

(3) Moveon.org - in our hypothetical - facilitating a relationship with Chinese leadership and institutions in order to find and operate on common ground is, to my mind, less specious in terms of the overall American historiocultural context re: "communism" and "Communism" than Walmart, standing fast and CLOSING STORES in the face of democratic unions, allowing the Communist party and its union form into its venue on an ongoing basis. One is a discussion of ideas; the other, a debaement of one's own claims about these isms in the face of the opportunity to commodify.

(3A) It's your argument that the Communist Party shapes no culture, and is simply a way to hold onto power? Where in China do you go? Outside the economic enclaves? Outside the cities?

(4) Let's just agree that nothing will stand in the way of making money; and that, in that, we ought to tug on deez nutz and shoot the finger to ANYONE who argues otherwise; those folks around this nation committed to the idea of offering freedom to Iraq and other places...it's not about freedom per se, but rather the freedom of Wal-MArt to get in there to do what they do, right? Let's just acknolwedge that that's what wer'e talking about, and that OTHER people with OTHER conceptions of fredom aren't part of this frame on humanity.

 

So they've simply joined the rest of Corporate America. *shrug*

Look, the view in the executive suites is that patriotism is for sucks. It's something useful when you need to sell something (including ideas) to rubes but if acting against the national interest will increase their quarterly profits by 0.001%, "American" CEOs will do it in half a heartbeat.

Of course, the same is true of human rights as well. The American ruling class doesn't give a dingo's kidney if a foreign government tortures, terrorizes and oppresses its citizens (in fact, in some situations, such things are demanded). Our rulers don't even care if the country calls itself "communist". As long as they let companies make a buck off their people, they can be as murderous and evil as they want and the worst they'll get is the occasional cynical jawboning during our election years.

 

Hell, if it's desired the USA will even help to shape the foreign government to benefit the companies making the buck. Even if that means killing citizens of the other country and well US citizens too. God Bless America.

 

Hysterics and nonsense aside, what's important is that China has let WalMart in to begin with, not that WalMart in any way has sold its soul to be there (Besides, when in Rome...). This isn't about the quaint notion of so-called trade unions. This is another capitalist encrochment in a place where it would have been unimaginable decades ago. View it like this: WalMart will eventually sell the Chinese communists the rope they will hang themselves with.

 

Either that or Hu Jintao.

 

Except that China hasn't been anything approaching "communist" in decades. They've been transitioning to fascism for quite some time and our rulers are just ducky with a fascist China - unless they decide to become a world military as well as economic power.

 

And those two companies, by the same token, wouldn't be vilified on liberal/lefty blogs in any manner comparable to the way WalMart is.

 

Thought I'd post this for the millions of you on this thread who still think the U.S. and WalMart are dealing with a 1950s or 60s-style China.

Wake up, guys--it's 2006.

Where’s Mao? Chinese Revise History Books - New York Times

 

You're right river plate, china in 2006 is a bastion of human rights, free political expression and labor rights?

dingbat.

 

Rome wasn't built in a day.

 

Matt, the difference is that in the US we had the groundwork laid by way of the Constitution (and still it took decades and decades to get equal rights for women and minorities.) China doesn't even have the groundwork so your comparison is unfair.

As for WalMart in China, I don't give a rat's ass. I'm much more concerned about how WalMart behaves in the US.