Karl Marx explained that Capitalism is based on a limited ownership of the means of production. It takes a lot of money to build an auto plant, so only the largest joint-stock companies can afford to do so. This means that individual auto workers are at the mercy of their employer. (Only when they unite …
We worked flea markets for a while. The whole family was involved. My mom made costume jewelry on a workbench in the basement. She took apart old watches and used the clockwork for broaches and pendants. Then every Saturday, we would set up a booth in at the flea market in Belleville, Illinois. Roaming the …
I can’t believe the news today. Walmart has announced that its Black Friday sales will start at 8pm on Thursday. In other words, on Thanksgiving evening, right after dinner. Holding big Christmas sales on Thanksgiving Day is tasteless and callous. Because it’s not about the shoppers. It’s about the workers. Why “Black Friday”? Black Friday …
All marketing involves manipulation, at least to a certain extent. After all, if you’re trying to convince someone to support your brand or bit your product, you’re going to have to tie into human emotion. But if you get too blatantly manipulate, you risk scaring off your customers. Let me tell you about my recent …
Walking into a supermarket nowadays is like walking into a Las Vegas casino. In both cases, the environment is designed to overwhelm your senses and distract you from how much money you’re spending. And in both cases, it works. Here are some of the more annoying ways that large grocery store chains work to overwhelm …
Loading tweets...