An interesting dialogue indeed. Furman is a capitalist, but of the squishy variety, not to be confused with Smith, Hayek, or Friedman. Ehrenreich appears to be an outright Leninist.

I shop at WalMart from time to time. The employees appear to be considerably better off than I was 35 years ago, doing backbreaking construction labor in 100-degree heat in South Texas for the minimum wage. At the time, I would have welcomed having WalMart around to work for. They do air condition the stores, for starters.

Interestingly, last week a US District judge overturned the Maryland law that would have required Wal-Mart to spend more money on health care for its workers. Wal-Mart critics had hoped the law could be replicated in other states. While Maryland's actions suggest that states are willing to be pro-active, this decision suggests that critics must look at other measures to impact Wal-Mart's conduct.