Today, CNBC repeated a long report about Wal-Mart that I found to quite interesting. I was particularly interested because I've never shopped at a Wal-Mart. No, never... not once. Given their sales figures, I must be in a very small minority.

What is interesting about the Wal-Mart story is the intensity of those who oppose the corporation. They claim that Wal-Mart pays sub-standard wages, has sub-standard health care, and drives small businesses into bankruptcy when it enters a market. They're also criticized for outsourcing to foreign nations and forcing their suppliers to outsource by insisting on prices as low as possible.

Personally, one might expect me to be among those who oppose Wal-Mart. Not only don't I shop there, but I don't like shopping in the so-called "big-box" stores of any brand. I value, and enjoy shopping at, small businesses. I know that costs me money, but I don't buy much anyway, so it's not many dollars wasted in exchange for a more pleasant shopping experience.

I also oppose the frequent abuse of eminent domain by cities in trying to accumulate large blocs of property for big developments. Although I don't know that such abuse has occurred to clear space for Wal-Mart stores, I would be surprised if it hasn't. Wal-Mart stores represent a major source of tax revenue, and jobs, for cities in which they locate... presenting a great temptation for overeager city councils to force homeowners and small businesses out. Wal-Mart stores also pull retail customers in from other nearby cities.

Despite these attitudes, I view the opposition to Wal-Mart as being weakly grounded. People who go to work at Wal-Mart do so voluntarily, and are free to quit at any time. With a million and a half employees worldwide, it seems damned clear that there are a lot of employees who are VERY satisfied with their jobs. That's not to say, as the CEO said on the show, that there haven't been problems for some employees. How could there NOT be some out of a body that large? Another factor is that Wal-Mart promotes their own employees into management positions, which means that they're going to have a considerable number of relatively new managers at any point in time, which in turn means that those inexperienced managers are going to make some bad judgments as they gain experience.

Wal-Mart was built on low prices, and they work hard at driving those prices as low as possible. Even senior executives share hotel rooms when they travel. Offices in their home office are modest and small, and management drives for efficiency with a passion. They DO squeeze everyone who works with them, and that squeezing can be hazardous for suppliers who can't match their desire for the lowest possible prices. Wal-Mart management does assist suppliers in cutting their costs, but if a supplier can't produce low enough prices, their products just won't be sold at Wal-Marts, and that makes a HUGE difference.

There are some simple bottom lines in relation to the Wal-Mart issue:

1. People choose to shop at Wal-Mart in huge numbers, because doing so enables them to buy more goods with the same amount of money. If they didn't like it, they would shop somewhere else.

2. People choose to work at Wal-Mart in huge numbers... each for their own set of reasons. If they didn't like it, they would quit and work somewhere else.

3. Suppliers of almost all products choose to sell to Wal-Mart, because doing so increases their sales more than with any other outlet.

Mentally add up the number of people who shop at Wal-Mart, and the number who work there, and all the people in companies who sell goods to them. Whatever that number is, it's enormous. It's so enormous that it just doesn't leave very many people to be dissatisfied... some very vocal minorities, and many people who believe they can benefit from bringing lawsuits against a company with deep pockets.

Despite my personal shopping preferences, Wal-Mart is a superb example of successful free-market capitalism. Remember, they weren't always big. They got that way by doing what they do better than anyone else, and they were up against some good big competitors who had a lot more clout. The amazing thing is that, unlike most giant companies, they're continuing to do it all well. Most large organizations get fat and sloppy with inefficiency and superfluous layers of management, but Wal-Mart seems to be setting an example that may well drive many other firms in the same direction. In the process, they're making an awful lot of people happy and somewhat richer.