One case study progressive Americans need to know stone-cold if we want to undertake any serious political reform is that of Wal-mart. Let's start tonight by watching Frontline's "Is Wal-mart Good for America?" and taking copious notes.
Wal-mart is our new Standard Oil, which in its largesse undermines wide swaths of civic society on issues of domestic economy, health care, collective bargaining, international trade, small business security, enviromental sustainability, consumer privacy, and on and on. Their revenues amount to 2 percent of the US GDP, and they employ over 1.3 million people.
A concerted, collaborative effort to undermine the Wal-mart model of 21st century America and provide a viable alternative will take time, smarts, patience, pooled resources and nerve. And it could simultaneously provide the framework for a winning, durable progressive coalition.