Donald Spivey's Schooling for a Term Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 1007 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1+

Page 1 of 3



Both the Great Crash of 1929 by John Kenneth Galbraith and the Wal-Mart Effect are economic studies, one of how rampant speculation in the stock market caused the destruction of the American economy, the other how exploitation as used as an economic tool by a single large company has caused cheaper goods but a less ethical society. Both authors regard the federal government as complacent and negligent in its duty to properly police the economy: "freed at last of all government regulation or retribution, the market sallied off in to the wild blue yonder" (Galbraith 42). However, Galbraith's fundamental contention is that although clearly better regulation was needed in terms of how securities were traded and to curtail the over-willingness of banks to lend, the real reason for the Crash of 1929 was not simply the state of the stock market, but the structure of the American economy as a whole, which he calls fundamentally unsound (Galbraith 177). The rich had grown so rich and the poor had grown so poor that there were simply not enough dollars to support the explosion in manufacturing.

These types of inequities are also the concern of the Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman. However, while Galbraith attempts to use a past, historical scenario to explain the present, Fishman analyzes an economic phenomenon of the here and now. He is less interested in discussing economic theory than Galbraith, and devotes more attention to specific aspects of the Wal-Mart supply chain.

Stuck Writing Your "Donald Spivey's Schooling for A" Term Paper?

View All Our Example Donald Spivey's Schooling for a Term Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

His style is less linear, and more anecdotal, and also more passionate, because the abuses are going in the present day, rather than are abuses that occurred in the past.

Although no crash has occurred -- yet -- Fishman suggests that Wal-Mart's domination can and should not go on forever. By going overseas to use cheaper labor, American jobs are lost. By driving down wages, the non-unionized poor get poorer, and the poorer people become, the more they feel compelled to shop at Wal-Mart. American companies that do not wish to do business with the retailing giant are also driven out of business. Like Galbraith, Fishman is inclined to see government regulation as the only solution to this spiraling effect, although he advances his prescription with less certainty than Galbraith, as he does not have the benefit of hindsight. Fishman's text is more of a plea to the American consumer not to buy from Wal-Mart. Because Wal-Mart's abuses are private, rather than the result of under-regulation like the Crash, the American consumer has a responsibility to do more to correct those abuses on a personal level by not buying at Wal-Mart, even though government intervention may be necessary to completely end the unethical practices of the company.

Works.....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Donald Spivey's Schooling For A" (2007, May 03) Retrieved June 4, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/donald-spivey-schooling-37995

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Donald Spivey's Schooling For A" 03 May 2007. Web.4 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/donald-spivey-schooling-37995>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Donald Spivey's Schooling For A", 03 May 2007, Accessed.4 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/donald-spivey-schooling-37995
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example