Money Talks As Loud As Rocks

We’ve all heard the story before, a peaceful town is invaded by a corporate force and before you know your table is no longer set with fresh vegetables bought from the farmer’s market, but rather horrible, mass produced pseudo-meat products and generic flatware. The local competition practically dissipates in the middle of the night. Even the hands that once held picket signs protesting the monopolized take over, now reach for “the best value, at the best price.”

I have seen this in my own hometown with the arrival of Wal Mart. Many locals cried out, forewarning that by allowing Wal Mart to build on the outskirts of town, the business would be drained out of our beloved main street. Now, grant it our main street at the time donned three antique shops, a dog bathing business and an insurance firm, their premonitions were justified nonetheless. However, ironically, a few months later, these oracles were seen stocking up on half-priced back-to-school supplies at, where else, Wal Mart.

Well, you can be sure that the same scenario happens over and over around the world. Here, instead of a giant smiley face as a nemesis, Mexicanos have the giant pelican to fear. The giant pelican is the symbol for the Wal Mart equivalent: Comercial Mexicana. Comercial Mexicana is a chain of supermarkets and restaurants that has outgrown local markets, local governments, and local cries that protested the construction of Comercial Mexicana stores on land illegally obtained. So, I wonder: Who are these people and what planet do they come from?

I think we will all be in accord when I say corporations are comprised of people (okay, and occasionally robots). And usually, the main work force of these corporations include local citizens of the areas they wish to reside in. So if this is the case, at what point do corporations seem to become so detached from their communities, and in essence, humanity? Is it a case of powerlessness, in which David doesn’t actually hit Goliath with the small rock, but rather misses and Goliath forces him to buy two sets of flatware for the price of one? OR is it a case of corporations just giving the public what it demands: convenience in exchange for freedom?

In a state of Neoliberalism, it’s hard to point fingers at competitors for competing. As one business man here in Mexico puts it, “business has no nationality.” However, I would have to disagree with this and say if a business has employees, it has nationality. I am almost certain that the employees at the Mega here in Mexico either live next to, or know somebody who is a local vendor. And at the least they are all citizens of Mexico and care about the state of their communities.

Maybe it’s a more a question of citizen voice. How much “say” (actions or words) do you feel you have in the economics of your community? Where is your own business nationality? Because when it comes down to it, David isn’t actually holding a rock, he’s holding dinero, and he can decide which Goliath to pay.