Dana at Apophenia summarizes best why I’m not a huge fan of Wal-mart. While they do try to do things for the community and have become more eco-friendly, they still benefit from outsourcing production to overseas in sometimes questionable work environments, and they destroy local businesses when they move in. Plus, you can drive around and see empty Wal-mart building all over the place, leaving an eyesore in their wake.
But the larger point Dana’s making is valid: cultural sustainability. I’m thrilled environmental sustainability has become a focus of late, and hopefully it continues (I think actually it will). But we need to think long term about the ramifications of our actions on society & culture. To me, it blends with social responsibility. Just because you can do something (as a corporation), doesn’t mean you should. We’re all responsible for the world we live in, in terms of society, the environment, and much more. People, schools, corporations, the media, the government. Every entity contributes and every entity should be held to responsible standards.