The People's Republic of Walmart

How the World's Biggest Corporations are Laying the Foundation for Socialism

By: Leigh Phillips, Michal Rozworski

Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

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.

©2019 Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski (P)2019 Tantor

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.

compelling but not convincing

I feel like the author made several good points in favor of economic planning in particular that economic planning is done by capitalist firms and businesses. However, to say that government planning could work since private sector planning works seems like a false equivalence. Also I do not think that the author made a very compelling argument in defense of the Soviet model. I don't think the authors reasons successfully explain away why the Soviet system failed. This is a compelling attempt to rehabilitate economic planning in the wake of the failures of Soviet socialism. Compelling but not convincing. Nonetheless, I would recommend anybody interested in economic theory especially someone open to hearing opposing views read this book.

Very informative

Great post mortem on USSR. Also, the author gets into Amazon and other modern tech companies. The Walmart reference in the title made me think the book would be more 90s centric but that was not the case.

Interesting & thought provoking

Raises a lot of interesting questions while drawing on the history of the subject and practical implementation.

Optimistic and Convincing

This is a solid book outlining the theory of planning at a global scale being aided by the technology currently being employed by private firms like Amazon and Walmart. This is interesting stuff.

Great explanation of an at surface utopian theory

Simplified the history and theory behind a socialist economy very well, so well my dumbass was able to understand it.

Thought provoking

He makes many interesting points under the premise that firms do not operate internally like markets. They are “islands of tyranny”, a phrase that will live rent free in my mind. He provides a lot of history, and some humor and wit. I think he successfully argues that democratically organized economic planning is not only feasible, but already in practice in companies like Walmart and these tools could be in the hands of the people rather than the corporate despots.

Great exploration of economic planning

A well-informed look at the economic planning controversy that looks at various historical examples.

Narrowly Useful, Broadly Naive

A good look at logistics and planning from a socialist perspective. As is often the case, proposals for radical democracy ignore the reaction of the bourgeoisie to their displacement. But there's useful stuff in here.

"great book, an important tool in your arsenal "

Simple ideas expressed in a way we can use to argue with sociopaths about socialism

A fascinating argument for Socialist planning

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, wrong structured arguments for imagining a socialism that can meet the needs of planning and I always appreciate the dispelling of capitalist myths. I’ll. recommend to friends.

Very Informative

This is an excellent insight into the nature and history of economic planning and into why it is superior to market allocation and how we could hope to replace markets with planning in the future. A very useful book for any socialist.

A comprehensive destruction of anti-planning

I would've added some reasons for USSR's authoritarianism tho like sabotage etc, since it's the main vehicle for asserting that planning doesn't work it's important to explain not only that planning was compromised but also why - otherwise it will be said that communists inherent evil stops them from using planning for good and it should be kept to the capitalists.

But otherwise book demonstrated superiority of planning over markets beautifully.

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.

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.