11 March 2008

"...You crazy ... and the new one is much better."

I wish there was an IKEA nearby. :(



Related: How the IKEA store represents libertarian ideals:

Fire the hard-sellers, lower the price of the sofa by $200 and you've got IKEA, where most items can simply be picked up and rolled out the door. At the entrance there is a sign: "No one will bother you." Five words, one libertarian ideal.

IKEA automates, meaning fewer surly minimum-wage zombies to deal with at every turn. At checkout, you can scan and ring up the merch yourself, meaning shorter waits. Conservatives should be pleased that self-sufficiency is taught as a character imperative at IKEA. Wrote Oliver Burkeman in The Guardian: "IKEA's moral crusade extends uncompromisingly to the customer. Whether you like it or not, it intends to teach you the value of good, honest, simple hard work. Self-assembly, viewed from this perspective, is more than a cost-cutting measure: it's a tool of evangelism, designed to make you sweat for your own edification."

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