Comments on: Milton Freidman vs. Whole Foods on Reason.com

By: green LA girl

green LA girl — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 23:13:33 +0000

Reading this makes me more curious about Mackey and his biz strategies. My friends’ve heard him say at green conferences that fair trade’s a marketing gimmick, for ex. Is he a guy who’s great at using socio-environmental plans toward achieving biz profit ends? Or vice versa?

By: Enrique

Enrique — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 01:07:24 +0000

Friedman vs CSR, that’s so last month. Keep in mind Whole Foods thrives on convincing consumers to pay more for lux goods, matching high ideals with high incomes.
http://commonground.typepad.com/com monground/2005/11/tree_huggers_vs.html#trackback

By: beev

beev — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 23:25:59 +0000

Thanks for the link, 3P. A really good read!

By: beev

beev — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 23:24:52 +0000

Thanks for that link, 3P. A really good read!

By: climb_ca

climb_ca — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 03:34:38 +0000

Great artcle. Rodgers comments are not even worthy of discussion. Friedman disappoints as well, but for different reasons. With all due respect to his Nobel prize, you would have hoped his wonderfully "textbook" and parochial view of the world would have changed in his old age. Alas no, he's about as progressive as a Trappist Monk. And at least they make good beer. Too much time in his ivory tower perhaps. Yesterday's article in the NY Times observing that the wealthy donate disproportionally less than those with smaller incomes is a perfect example of the flaw in Friedman's argument that the private sector is a more efficient allocator of social capital. It would seem from the study quoted in the article that the most wealthy are the least likely to allocate their "social capital." They seem to be more interested in pursuing tax breaks and Hummers than tackling the real social problems facing the United States. Regardeless, thankfully there are progressive business men and women like John Mackey, Paul Hawkens, Ray Anderson, and Yvon Chouinard. Let us hope that some day undergraduates and graduates alike know their names as well as they know Friedman's. And let us hope that their visions, not Friedman's or Rodgers', prevail.