A&P, Wal-Mart, And The American Consumer Identity

This excerpt from the new book Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses details the widespread backlash against the first generation of chain retailers in the 1920s-1940s. Opposition was so strong as to call into question the chains' continued existence. They recovered, however, by launching a massive PR campaign that convinced Americans to conceive of themselves primarily as consumers—not as workers, producers, small business owners, or even citizens. Today this consumer identity is pervasive and is commonly used by Wal-Mart and other big-box retailers to neutralize opposition and propel their expansion.