The People's Republic of Walmart - (Jacobin) by Leigh Phillips & Michal Rozworski (Paperback)

The People's Republic of Walmart is a groundbreaking book that challenges the conventional wisdom on capitalism and economic planning.

Written by two experienced economists, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of how multi-national corporations like Walmart are laying the groundwork for international socialism.

The authors argue that while these companies may appear to be the ultimate expressions of free-market capitalism, they are actually centrally planned at present and working towards a common goal. The book is an engaging and polemical romp through economic theory, computational complexity, and the history of planning, making it accessible to readers with varying levels of knowledge on the subject.

It revives the conversation about how society can extend democratic decision-making to all economic matters, and how new technologies and emerging collective enterprises can be used to achieve this goal. The authors present a persuasive case that democratic socialist planning is more necessary and more possible than ever before, citing examples from the earliest agricultural civilizations to the cybersocialists of the twentieth century.

They also address common criticisms of socialism and provide a compelling argument for why this approach is the best way forward in today's highly planned capitalist enterprises. Overall, The People's Republic of Walmart is an essential read for anyone interested in understanding the true nature of modern economic systems and how they can be transformed to work for the benefit of all.