Let Us Be Hoist With Our Own Petar!

The widening call to boycott Whole Foods over its CEO John Mackey’s insufficiently-humiliating self-criticism has yet to succeed in denting sales, but it has proven the substance of what we’re up against. While the Left spent the Bush years proclaiming itself the “reality-based community” and praised Obama as embodying their desire for a politics guided by reasoned discourse, they are showing themselves to be about as interested in their opponents’ views as were the Red Guards.*

It is understandable that unions and living-wage advocates would excoriate Wal-Mart and similar employers. But Whole Foods is widely viewed as a model employer–its retail employees are well-paid and receive some of the best benefits in the industry. But as any true zealot can tell you, “a revolution is not a dinner party,” and Mackey has clearly cast his lot with the bourgeoisie and must accordingly be smashed if progress is to proceed.

In the end though, I suspect the primary effect of the re-education campaign will be to send man more of Whole Foods’ affluent shoppers online to find out more about the awful things Mackey said, only to discover that a lot of it actually seems quite reasonable. The sort of folks who can afford an extra 25-50% on their grocery bill are also the sort of people who are currently well-insured and financially secure; “reform” may pose a greater threat to their level of benefits than the status quo. 1994, here we come…

* Yes, I know the poster is from North Korea and the Red Guards are from China. Thankyouverymuchkbye.