The Case for Local Shops
"It is surely the case that 'big box' stores can, owing again to their clout as buyers, deliver a host of manufactured goods at a cheaper price than the petty bourgeoisie. What is not so clear, however, is whether, once one has factored in all the public goods... the petty bourgeoisie provides--informal social work, public safety, the aesthetic pleasures of an animated and interesting streetscape, a large variety of social experiences and personalized services, acquaintance networks, informal neighborhood news and gossip, a building block of social solidarity and public action, and (in the case of the smallholding peasantry) good stewardship of the land--the petty bourgeoisie might not bem in a full accounting, a far better bargain, in the long run, than the large, impersonal capitalist firm." -- James C. Scott, Two Cheers for Anarchism If you have never lived in a neighborhood with a thriving culture of local commercial activity, you will have no idea how differen...