Now we sit in our living rooms and order whatever we want. But at what price? I haven't worked for Mr. Bezos so I don't know first hand, nor have I worked at Walmart, although I have friends who have. In both cases, a good idea has seriously gone awry. We know how poorly paid workers are for both companies, and we hear how stressful their conditions are. The tragedy is how easily this could have been a completely different story, if only the owners had not had this gaping addiction to money, more money than anyone could ever use in a lifetime, or 100 lifetimes!
When is it enough?
In our culture, we have nothing but praise and adulation for money addicts. They are the stars of all advertising, stepping off yachts and private jets wearing thousands of dollars of clothes and sunglasses. Money is glamour, and so we fail to acknowledge it as a sickness when someone becomes a glutton for it.
Two downsides of money addiction are that the people who have it are selling their souls for it, and the people who work for them suffer. This is not to say that all rich and successful people are money addicts, far from it. There are examples of very wealthy people who treat their employees well, pay well and provide healthcare and time off. They manage to stay balanced, which is a choice we all have to make, every day. It might be a lot more challenging for the very rich. That's something I don't yet know about.