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The People's Republic of Walmart
- How the World's Biggest Corporations are Laying the Foundation for Socialism
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Categories: Politics & Social Sciences, Politics & Government
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Publisher's Summary
Since the demise of the USSR, the mantle of the largest planned economies in the world has been taken up by the likes of Walmart, Amazon, and other multinational corporations.
For the left and the right, major multinational companies are held up as the ultimate expressions of free-market capitalism. Their remarkable success appears to vindicate the old idea that modern society is too complex to be subjected to a plan. And yet, as Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski argue, much of the economy of the West is centrally planned at present. Not only is planning on vast scales possible, we already have it and it works. The real question is whether planning can be democratic. Can it be transformed to work for us?
An engaging, polemical romp through economic theory, computational complexity, and the history of planning, The People's Republic of Walmart revives the conversation about how society can extend democratic decision-making to all economic matters. With the advances in information technology in recent decades and the emergence of globe-straddling collective enterprises, democratic planning in the interest of all humanity is more important and closer to attainment than ever before.
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What listeners say about The People's Republic of Walmart
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- richard murphy
- 11-30-20
narration sucks
why would they pick somebody who speaks so oddly to read a book? the person reading doesn't speak like normal people do he ends everything he says in such a positive manner it makes everything sound like I don't know the most important thing he said?
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- Anonymous User
- 10-21-19
great content ideology lacking
good look at the apologist view for socialism being technically achievable through the planned market system. The twilight zone narrator voice is annoying and condescending though.
1 person found this helpful
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- ::m::
- 01-25-20
Narrator sounds like comic book guy from the Simpsons
Interesting book written on a decent premise. But the narrator seems to think the material isn’t engaging enough and that it’s up to him to exaggerate his performance in a order to make up for it. Will buy the book instead.
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- Rob
- 01-13-20
Some interesting points hidden in the partisan nonsense
I enjoyed this book as it had some interesting ideas I had not heard expressed elsewhere. However, even as someone well to the left of the average person, I could certainly have done without the clear left wing tone. Tribalism has no place in academic idea exploration- it probably serves to put off half the audience before they consider the broad point that planning is more effective than generally considered.