Stephan: The anti-Wal-Mart crowd will use any excuse to go after this company. I, too, quarrel with the company when it uses the state in some manner that violates private property principles (e.g., eminent domain) but you won’t hear its critics lambasting Wal-Mart for this (after all, this crowd doesn’t want to begin defending property principles, a position that would haunt them in other issue areas). If Wal-Mart sold a gun of the same model used by someone who murdered his family, the gun-control contingent would be quickly mobilized to action.
No, the anti-Wal-Mart Jihad is driven by one unforgivable trait of this company: it is anti-union and wants to stay that way. Worse, it is among the most consistently profitable firms because it has successfully resisted the costs that would otherwise be brought about by various branches of the United Brotherhood of Leeches. Should Wal-Mart ever change its policies and welcome collective thinking, all would be forgiven. Trips to the White House and, who knows, perhaps even a Nobel Peace Prize might await!
