4 ms·

You are still missing my point. I know very well that Walmart will exist no matter where I shop; that is exactly my point. My individual decision will not chang

You are still missing my point. I know very well that Walmart will exist no matter where I shop; that is exactly my point. My individual decision will not change anything in regards to Walmarts existence or actions. My only choice is whether I get to enjoy the cheap prices Walmart offers; you say "some people seem to like it", and I am clearly agreeing... everyone likes cheaper prices! I hate the way Walmart treats its workers, but I love the cheap prices... so I either shop there and get the cheap prices or I pay more to shop somewhere else, but either way the workers are going to be treated the same way. Given that, why wouldn't I choose to shop there? If they are going to be abusing their workers no matter what I do, I might as well at least get cheap prices. And that is why "the free market" will never stop the types of abuses that Walmart commits. Your last sentence is EXACTLY WHAT I AM ARGUING FOR. I am saying if we want to change Walmarts behavior, we can ONLY do it through legislation; we can't "vote with our wallet" and expect Walmart to change its behavior. We have to vote with our actual vote. My argument is with people who think we shouldn't regulate businesses because we can use our wallet to change them; I am saying we can't use our wallet for all the reasons I laid out.

AlbertCory 4y ago
> we can't use our wallet .. and yet, millions of people do exactly that. Consumer boycotts happen every day. Sometimes they even have an effect.
- rolenthedeep 4y ago
  >sometimes they even have an effect This is the point
- cortesoft 4y ago
  An organized boycott is different than just making an individual choice. And again, a single person defecting from the boycott won't make any difference either way.
  - AlbertCory 4y ago
    So you don't vote in elections, I take it? After all, almost no election is ever decided by one vote. (If it did happen, they'd have a recount because there are probably counting errors.)
    - cortesoft 4y ago
      Rationally, you are right that voting as an individual doesn't matter (I linked the Paradox of Voting in another comment for this very reason). I still do vote, though, because there are non-rational reasons I think voting is important. You are absolutely right, though, that pure game theory says voting is not important, and I believe that is why voting is not how we make changes to our society (at least not directly). It takes organizing.

AlbertCory 4y ago

> we can't use our wallet .. and yet, millions of people do exactly that. Consumer boycotts happen every day. Sometimes they even have an effect.

rolenthedeep 4y ago
>sometimes they even have an effect This is the point
cortesoft 4y ago
An organized boycott is different than just making an individual choice. And again, a single person defecting from the boycott won't make any difference either way.
- AlbertCory 4y ago
  So you don't vote in elections, I take it? After all, almost no election is ever decided by one vote. (If it did happen, they'd have a recount because there are probably counting errors.)
  - cortesoft 4y ago
    Rationally, you are right that voting as an individual doesn't matter (I linked the Paradox of Voting in another comment for this very reason). I still do vote, though, because there are non-rational reasons I think voting is important. You are absolutely right, though, that pure game theory says voting is not important, and I believe that is why voting is not how we make changes to our society (at least not directly). It takes organizing.