Whole Foods’ John Mackey: We must change how we think about capitalism | Reason Interview

[@SteveTwerkel]

This guy is like my spirit animal.

[@TimothySielbeck]

I remember when whole foods was just an odd, quirky, store on the west side of downtown Austin. It had same amazing items that couldn't be bought anywhere else. It lost its appeal when to me when it started to grow and become just like all the other grocery chains.

[@Appleblade]

lol... John taking the opportunity to get everything off his chest. Love it!

[@mindsharemonkey]

Very interesting discussion. It is only marred by an insistence of comparing capitalism to a boogie man of Chinese and Russian, Cuban "socialism". Milton Friedman's Two Cheers for Capitalism at least admitted that capitalism isn't perfect. Shouldn't the discussion be more about how to incrementally improve capitalist models vs some academic binary of capitalism vs. socialism? (For example, was the shareholder capitalism that forced the sale of Whole Foods an inherently good thing or was it an instance of market forces distorting the social goods of capitalism? - this would have been an interesting line of inquiry.)

[@cadenbigler]

God damn almost a thousand dollars a month for his new venture. I guess I'm not the target demographic

[@youtubeaccount7770]

Now that he’s set for life and suppressed unions from forming he wants to make it more difficult and expensive for others to do what he did.

[@adamsdav2440]

He says at 47:00 he's not against unions. He say's unions are competitors and a consequence for bad management.

[@jethrobodine9155]

I've never been to Whole Foods, Kroger's or Costco. My main stores are the Grocery Outlet, Walmart and Dollar Tree. I shop at Trader Joe's once in a while for a few items they carry. I'm a vegan for the animals and a libertarian, so I'm not by any means"anti-capitalist", and I'm not motivated by envy, although I think most advocates of capitalism are defenders of crony capitalism and it's hidden coercion. I don't have a mobile phone and never plan to get one. I have no intention of ever strapping a monitoring device on my arm. I've had maddening experiences with AI customer service. I live below the poverty line, but that's my responsibility and choice, and it's not that bad, though I do think the crony-capitalist mixed economy regulation state does keep people like me down, not just economically, but spiritually. Mackey and Reason with their light, easy-going Hayekenism seem okay with this kind of "pragmatic" oppression. We live in very different worlds.

[@YouilAushana]

32:25 - thanks people are so unaware of their ego

[@davidanalyst671]

"what is capitalism?" "Proceeds to describe free markets"

[@chrimony]

He nailed it right at the beginning of his response. Private owners of the means of production. Capitalism is part of the free market.

[@ickster23]

​@@chrimonyTrue, but Capitalism only exists for approximately a decade in any new nation. Within a few years it morphs into Crony Capitalism and Corporatism. You will see vestiges of a free market in mom and pop level shops, but as soon as one of these enterprises threatens a big player, then laws and regulations will be bought to eliminate the competition. Socialism is no different. It quickly morphs into Crony Socialism and Communism. The real issue with any economic model is the abysmal characteristics of those who seek and attain political power.

[@roymarshall_]

Capitalism requires free markets. Free markets require capitalism. Capitalism is just a free market of capital goods.

[@GreenAppelPie]

If y’all want to understand good organic produce, go to Italy!

[@jethrobodine9155]

The larger question is how much these business giants grew from actual laissez-faire capitalism and how much they grew from legalistically savvy obsessives who had the neurology and aptitude to game the crony-capitalist, business-government, good-ole-boy alliance. I'm all for real capitalism, but I don't think Reason and Mackey have the same idea of it as I do.

[@YouilAushana]

44:00 gotta fix malinvestments for the business train to reach the end of the track.

[@pablorages1241]

Surprising ... didn't think the person who started Whole Foods would have these views ... pretty sure most of his customers wouldn't agree with many of his ideas

[@adamsdav2440]

The truth is those people aren't customers anymore.

[@chrisdryer]

Funny how he says people are afraid of new innovations and yet he made a business off of people fearing GMO and wanting Organics for this reason even though they don’t know what it means exactly.

[@adamsdav2440]

Did anyone else make it to the LSD conversation?

[@elishevajones6730]

I applaud the creation of Whole Foods, but after Amazon bought Whole Foods, I boycott Whole Foods. Amazon trashed the original business model of Whole Foods.

[@adamsdav2440]

Once all the hippies quit, I then knew whole foods had got into bed with the devil.

[@billhammett174]

So is it fun working for Jeff and Company?

[@YouilAushana]

39:07 - this list include shame?

[@Appleblade]

Yike. Love.Life is going to get attacked from all sides if it's even remotely successful. Imagine all the businesses who will see damage if people flooded into an actually effective healthcare lifestyle.

[@pappaflammyboi5799]

Most of Whole Foods wealth and growth wasn't created by their own efforts, it was from the use of cheap capital and cheap banking finance which they used to buy up competitors. Banks and VCs aren't designed to support capitalism, they're mostly about personal enrichment, corporate cronyism, and monopoly practices. I'll give the guy credit for trying, but he needs to be honest about how he got to where he is now, and that wasn't by the sweat of his own brow. It was created using fancy lawyers and fiat banking financial instruments. Close, but no cigar...

[@timonsmeets387]

So it was created by capitalism?

[@pappaflammyboi5799]

@@timonsmeets387 No, it was coopted by fascists and sociopaths. There's nothing wrong with the theory of capitalism. Government corrupts most things eventually. It always needs heavy checks and balances.

[@pappaflammyboi5799]

@@timonsmeets387 Well, that didn't take long. KZbin yanked my comment. Speaking of authoritarian-ism...

[@pappaflammyboi5799]

@@meiko_kaji I responded to you, or possibly someone else, and the comment got taken down. Not including the OP...

[@adamsdav2440]

Whole Foods is doing everything wrong in 2024, they have lost a majority of my business.

[@zarbins]

Haven't been to Whole Foods in awhile, what are they doing in 2024 that is bothering you?

[@adamsdav2440]

@@zarbins The palm scanner for NWO 2030 chip ID bothers me the most!

[@kylewatson5133]

The words capitalism and socialism have zero meaning, ignore them. Do you take money by force? Let's call that something else and then get rid of it.

[@kokoromarudi7717]

That's neither of them. That's just a way to enforce socialism

[@kylewatson5133]

@@kokoromarudi7717 Socialism can be completely voluntary.

[@markjohnson8260]

​@@kylewatson5133As I see it, possibly up to a population level of maybe 10.

[@tomspettigue8791]

@@kylewatson5133 neither can be completely voluntary. no one has figured out how to gin up a system that fundamentally doesn't rely on force.

[@kylewatson5133]

@@tomspettigue8791 You're not making a distinction between initiating violence and reciprocating violence. Taxation is initiation of force. Theft is the initiation of force. Defending your property that you have infused with your labor is not initiating force, it is reciprocity. Defending yourself from bodily harm is not initiation of force. To equate offense with defense is a monumental blunder.

[@stevebeschakis9775]

So he created a wonderful retail institution then sold it to the devil.

[@GreenAppelPie]

Any more video like this and I’m unsubbed

[@Nemerson74]

You didnt even watch it lol

[@Killllian]

Yes, I agree. In future, PICTURES ONLY PLEASE. VIDEOS MAKE ME FEEL CONFUSED AND UPSET. I will not ask again.

[@davidanalyst671]

what is wrong with you?

[@jps101574]

It was the best video I've seen from this channel. Do you have any intelligent disagreements with the interview? I won't hold my breath.

[@Justin_Beaver564]

WTF?

[@elkinjohn]

IMHO I don't use the term Capitalism... I use freedom instead... Fascism is a bigger issue than Communism or Socialism... and in crony Capitalism companies are privately owned. Some people against the current system are actuallly against the Fascism... I also don't us the term competition...

[@grantwhitley6857]

Do you think lower socioeconomic status citizen actually have any “freedom” in a capitalist society. There is no personal freedom to do anything when corporations underpay provide mo health care and you rent your home from some asshole who doesn’t care about you. There is little choice of life for laymen in a corporation and true free market economy

[@CariMachet]

Hahhahaha I boycott Whole Foods and have for years > entrepreneurs???? He bought up rival health food stores in this region and closed them > capitalism doesn’t have monopolies??? Capitalism has a free market ???? Lies !!! He hasn’t lived outside of America and doesn’t understand that capitalism is NOT new

[@RichardKing-sx6xc]

*Monopolies are awesome!!!* 🗽💛🖤😎👍

[@chrimony]

Practically every grocery store sells organic foods. Gotta love the Marxists, still pining for their utopia.

[@Hedgeflexlfz]

whole foods is over price trash

[@draj8590]

Capitalism leads to monopolies, thats why a handful of corporations own everything under an umbrella.

[@marshallkobe]

The guys who says “socialism leads to communism” never understand the principal that capitalisms goal is monopoly.

[@davidanalyst671]

every government in human history has failed. Governments lead to monopolies, and it leads to society failure. Free markets do not lead to monopolies.

[@chrimony]

Monopolist companies become a victim of their own success. Capitalism is the best system.

[@johnsmithers8913]

Everything leads to Monopolies. You think socialism is not a monopoly? It's the ultimate monopoly. The only difference is that corporate monopolies will inevitably collapse because of laziness and rot and small business can then grow as corporations become inept....even in protecting their own monopolies. Governments can become lazy and rot, but have the police, army, and system to crush any opposition no matter how incompetent and poor they are.

[@kokoromarudi7717]

​@@marshallkobe principle* and you don't even know your own literature. Socialism does lead to communism. Read up on Marx if you want to spread proper propaganda.

[@consciousnobody]

Why dislikes? Huh