On Hating Walgreens, Albertsons, etc.

There's a thought amongst some philosophers that goes something like this:

You should love what's lovable and hate what's hate-able.

Then, there's a reaction: that's not very informative.

(I should try to find a quote from a philosopher.)

But, in the meantime, it raises the question: What is lovable? What is deserving of hatred?

Well, virtue is lovable, and injustice, cruelty and such deserve our hatred.

Mundane institutions such as Albertsons and Walgreens do indeed manifest injustice, manipulation, and other bad things. Are you really going to tell me that their prices are fair, or that their workers are getting fair pay and have good working conditions?

But the key thing is that they are in my immediate environment. I must shop there, and, for reasons I have written about elsewhere on this blog, I continue to have the same unpleasant experiences.

And, to make things worse, my complaint involves my elderly parents. Because institutions like Walgreens and Albertsons are less than they should be, my parents' lives have more trouble and irritation, and less of quality.

So, there is something personal about my antipathy toward those private tyrannies. I must deal with them on a regular basis; so, I know them better than I would like to. It's something like intimacy. It's like a daily irritation, or a daily reminder that we are powerless.

And, as a final thought, think about this:

In Slovakia, drug stores do not sell cigarettes or ice cream or cosmetics.

In Slovakia, grocery stores do not sell drugs.

I suppose that's the law there, and I'll bet it's that way in other European countries as well.

Why do they do it that way? I do not know the history, but wouldn't it prevent monopolies? MIght it not be better if stores which sold cigarettes did not sell medicines? Isn't it enough if a pharmacy simply sells medicines? Doesn't Albertson's, e.g., make a large enough profit without selling medicines?

Well, I suppose the pharmacies in Slovakia are actually state-run (I don't know this for a fact, and actually I haven't lived there for three years now), and that makes a big difference as well.

I'm pretty sure that pharmacies would do a better job if they were treated as a public utility and taken out of private hands....