What's Wrong With The World: Largest Public Employer: DOD, Largest Private Employer: Walmart

 The Economist published a chart recently that showed the largest employers in the world. The US Department of Defense earned the top spot, employing 3.2 million people. Walmart, an American-based corporation, was third on the list (behind the Chinese People's Liberation Army) employing 2.1 million people. This means that the US Department of Defense is the world's largest public employer, while Walmart is the world's largest private employer.

Two of the most oppressive entities are at their most powerful while the world, the US in particular, is in free fall. The DOD, uses its might to export US influence abroad, irrespective of other nations' rights of self-determination. It also employs its apparatus at home, through agencies like the NSA, to exercise a heavy hand against US citizens, irrespective of civil liberties. Walmart, exerts not military but economic strength, to drive down prices, drive down wages, and drive out competitors, irrespective of communities' wishes.


While the Economist's piece isn't surprising, it's troubling nonetheless. We must decide whether we want to exercise control over these entities before such an option is no longer available.