--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Walmart]s largest innovation consists in…" description: "\"“[Walmart]s largest innovation consists in getting rid of the central Fordist principle of paying the workers enough so that they can afford to buy wha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/steven-shaviro-67313_america_walmart-s-largest-innovation-consists-in_2384415.jpg" --- # \[Walmart\]s largest innovation consists in getting rid of… ![“[Walmart]s largest innovation consists in getting rid of the central Fordist principle of paying the workers enough so that they can afford to buy what they manufacture. Instead, WalMart has pioneered the inverse principle: paying the workers so little that they cannot afford to shop anywhere…” quote by Steven Shaviro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/steven-shaviro-67313_america_walmart-s-largest-innovation-consists-in_2384415.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/steven-shaviro-67313_america_walmart-s-largest-innovation-consists-in_2384415.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/steven-shaviro-67313_america_walmart-s-largest-innovation-consists-in_2384415.jpg) > ““\[Walmart\]s largest innovation consists in getting rid of the central Fordist principle of paying the workers enough so that they can afford to buy what they manufacture. Instead, WalMart has pioneered the inverse principle: paying the workers so little that they cannot afford to shop anywhere other than at WalMart. It might even be said, not too hyperbolically, that WalMart has singlehandedly preserved the American economy from total collapse, in that their lowered prices are the only thing that has allowed millions of the “working poor” to retain the status of consumers at all, rather than falling into the “black hole” of total immiseration. WalMart is part and parcel of how the “new economy” has largely been founded upon transferring wealth from the less wealthy to the already-extremely-rich. ”” Steven Shaviro ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wal-Mart’s pricing strategy relies on low wages that keep workers dependent on its stores, effectively shifting wealth upward while preserving consumer status for the poor. **In simple terms:** Low wages keep shoppers buying at Wal‑Mart, moving wealth to the rich. Key Takeaway Recognize how pricing and wages shape economic power. Themes economics labor consumerism wealth distribution Mood critical reflective Type analytical critical When to use this quote - policy analysis - business ethics - social advocacy - consumer behavior Key Concepts Wage suppression price dependency economic inequality Questions to Reflect On - How does low‑wage consumption affect social mobility? - Can alternative business models sustain both low prices and fair wages? A Different Perspective The model assumes low prices outweigh wage exploitation, ignoring long‑term social costs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Black hole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-hole/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) ## Related quotes > [“Our irises are galaxies; our pupils are black holes if we allow ourselves to bottle up everything inside us instead of allowing ourselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaclyn-johnston/our-irises-are-galaxies-our-pupils-are-black-holes-if-we-allow/) Jaclyn Johnston > [“Struggling transforms her captor into a Chinese finger trap. She’s suffocating. Sucking in air without relief. Her lungs expand. Contract. Expand. They fill with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kreitzer/struggling-transforms-her-captor-into-a-chinese-finger-trap-she-s/) [Laura Kreitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kreitzer/) > [“It's not that I'm being shy. It's just that -- well, for one, I don't even remember the event. It's a blank: a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-mccarthy/it-s-not-that-i-m-being-shy-it-s-just-that-well-for-one-i-don-t-even/) [Tom McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-mccarthy/) > [“Garraty thought that memories were like a line drawn in the dirt. The further back you went the scuffier and harder to see that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bachman/garraty-thought-that-memories-were-like-a-line-drawn-in-the-dirt-the/) [Richard Bachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bachman/) > [It's hard for me to speculate about what motivates somebody like Stephen Hawking or Elon Musk to talk so extensively about AI. I'd have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oren-etzioni/it-s-hard-for-me-to-speculate-about-what-motivates-somebody-like/) [Oren Etzioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oren-etzioni/) > [If space is a fabric, then of course fabrics can have ripples, which we have now seen directly. But fabrics can also rip. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/if-space-is-a-fabric-then-of-course-fabrics-can-have-ripples-which-we/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [“The bank man had been standing quietly by our picnic table, waiting to lock up the house. Around his waist he wore a live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-e-medford/the-bank-man-had-been-standing-quietly-by-our-picnic-table-waiting-to/) C.E. Medford > [The waves travel with the velocity of light and slightly squeeze and stretch space transverse to the direction of their motion. The first waves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-weiss/the-waves-travel-with-the-velocity-of-light-and-slightly-squeeze-and/) [Rainer Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-weiss/) > [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [Supermassive black hole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muse/supermassive-black-hole/) [Muse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muse/) > [“The sting of not having or not having enough bores a pain black hole that sucks all the other of life’s injuries into one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-powell-watts/the-sting-of-not-having-or-not-having-enough-bores-a-pain-black-hole/) [Stephanie Powell Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-powell-watts/) > [“Nothing will ever be enough to satisfy the black hole in our hearts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soman-chainani/nothing-will-ever-be-enough-to-satisfy-the-black-hole-in-our-hearts/) [Soman Chainani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soman-chainani/) > [I definitely have a different perspective on music in general. But once I actually have a guitar in my hands, I think I disappear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-orcutt/i-definitely-have-a-different-perspective-on-music-in-general-but/) [Bill Orcutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-orcutt/) > [I hate studios. A studio is a black hole. I never use a studio to work. It's very artificial to go to a studio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-hate-studios-a-studio-is-a-black-hole-i-never-use-a-studio-to-work/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [“Fear is the bane of all creatures and bubbles inside all forming a rock of solidifying darkness, sucking all will power to act or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-irini-poretsis/fear-is-the-bane-of-all-creatures-and-bubbles-inside-all-forming-a/) Isabella Irini Poretsis ## More by Steven Shaviro > [“Films and music videos, like other media works, are machines for generating affect, and for capitalizing upon, or extracting value from, this affect. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-shaviro/films-and-music-videos-like-other-media-works-are-machines-for/) Steven Shaviro > [“A map does not just replicate the shape of a territory; rather, it actively inflects and works over that territory.7 Films and music videos,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-shaviro/a-map-does-not-just-replicate-the-shape-of-a-territory-rather-it/) Steven Shaviro > [“For Massumi, affect is primary, non-conscious, asubjective or presubjective, asignifying, unqualified, and intensive; while emotion is derivative, conscious, qualified, and meaningful, a “content” that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-shaviro/for-massumi-affect-is-primary-non-conscious-asubjective-or/) Steven Shaviro Explore all 4 Steven Shaviro quotes ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[Walmart]s largest innovation consists in getting rid of the central Fordist principle of paying the workers enough so that they can afford to buy what they manufacture. Instead, WalMart has pioneered the inverse principle: paying the workers so little that they cannot afford to shop anywhere other than at WalMart. It might even be said, not too hyperbolically, that WalMart has singlehandedly preserved the American economy from total collapse, in that their lowered prices are the only thing that has allowed millions of the “working poor” to retain the status of consumers at all, rather than falling into the “black hole” of total immiseration. WalMart is part and parcel of how the “new economy” has largely been founded upon transferring wealth from the less wealthy to the already-extremely-rich. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Shaviro" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-shaviro/walmart-s-largest-innovation-consists-in-getting-rid-of-the-central/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-shaviro/walmart-s-largest-innovation-consists-in-getting-rid-of-the-central/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/steven-shaviro-67313_america_walmart-s-largest-innovation-consists-in_2384415.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/steven-shaviro-67313_america_walmart-s-largest-innovation-consists-in_2384415.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a97/steven-shaviro-67313_america_walmart-s-largest-innovation-consists-in_2384415.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[Walmart]s largest innovation consists in getting rid of the central Fordist principle of paying the workers…” — Steven Shaviro", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Steven Shaviro", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-shaviro/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“[Walmart]s largest innovation consists in getting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-shaviro/walmart-s-largest-innovation-consists-in-getting-rid-of-the-central/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-shaviro/walmart-s-largest-innovation-consists-in-getting-rid-of-the-central/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```