The supermarkets
Like every other person, my roomie and I frequent NTUC Fairprice (a supermarket along the lines of Carrefour and Tesco). We do it cos its convenient, everything is in one place, neatly catalogued and well priced as they buy in bulk.
I live in Singapore.
A small island off the coast of Malaysia. Its a typical asian society. Well, not that typical. Singaporeans are very westernised though everyone speaks mandarin which i feel is their only connection to their asian chinese roots. I can't say much for myself in the department too. I'm an ethnic indian, though i do speak tamil, i like everyone else in Singapore, am westernised to a good extent. But this is another story.....
That being said, lets get straight to the point shall we?
The large super stores kill the small businesses nearby. Those small sundry shops that have been around for eons just close up the minute a large chain store open next door.
But the consumer wins. We get to enjoy low prices, and give no thought to the person who just lost his livelihood and possibly his ability to support a family. Which begs the question:
If the consumer always wins, is something unethical justified? Does enjoying lower prices for a carton of milk and a few oranges justify killing someone's livelihood?
Cheers from the,
Matrix
|