Walmartization.

In a few decades, about everyone will have a Wallymart vest, except for the Uber-executive-celebrities in Wally-mart towers and gated enclaves, and maybe some red-rebels in a few third world nations (No se quiero El Wally!). The academic-left went through a Walmart-fetish phase a few years ago, so this topic may be boring to some; regardless of a few whines from marxist sorts or journalists, however, Walmartization does not appear to have abated much (though paraphrasing Iggy Pop, I don't have time to like check the demographics). Walmart marches on, regardless of war, economic collapse, revolutions, or water and environmental issues (building one of the super-stores--and it's the brokering, building and contracting that brings in the big shekels, not the mere day-to-day retail biz--requires more energy, water, and resources than many towns will use in a few years).

W-mart also functions psychologically, we suggest. As the Super-stores shut down the Ma and Pa shops as well as the mid-sized retail--best buy, circuit city (gone from eastside), pep boys, k-mart, various restaurants--the herd congeals, and becomes a sort of ersatz proletariat. Of course wally-bots (aka employees) are not allowed to unionize, per their employment contract, and usually are pink-slipped if they show any inclination towards collective bargaining.

The small town or 'burb sort of becomes a Walmart-feeder--the host to the Wally-parasite. One might say the Consumer does not consume the commodities offered by the store-machine, but that the store-machine--and waxing marxista for a few nanoseconds, the capitalist-owners, aka the Waltons, and their managers--consumes the towns and cities, urban areas, and finally entire regions, producing a class of 'Merican-bots, usually obese, addicted to fast-food, booze, various narcotics, firearms, bad movies, muzak, and cheap technology. Or something like that.