11/09/2005

Whole movements

Interesting article from the blog of John Mackey, the semi-libertarian CEO of Whole Foods. He talks about the ethos of Whole Foods as a company, while touching on a little politics as well.

Mackey (and whole foods) seems perched at the intersection of several philosophies, taking the most sensible parts from each - the virtue of freedom as an end (as valued by libertarians), the power of business to make a meaningful positive impact on the world (as valued by capitalists), the primacy of things besides the bottom line - things like community, health, environment, sensible choices (as valued by the left). It's not a random collage of beliefs, though; it's a thoughtful critique of the ways each "movement" we're familiar with fails by being too rigid and idealogical. Echoing what I've been hearing from several corners, he says:
I believe we need a new social/political/economical/environmental movement in the world today and I've got some definite ideas what this movement should look like.
An interesting read.