The Worldly Philosophers, Vol.1, Number 23 November 19, 2007 THE Worldly Philosophers Club For Individualists Who Seek Worldly Wisdom

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John Mackey CEO, Whole Foods Market   JOHN MACKEY: ENTREPRENEUR WITH A VISION By Mark Skousen In this issue . . . - How to live healthy and wealthy to 100 or beyond.  What is "conscious capitalism"? John Mackey’s favorite conference:  How you can attend    "My philosophy is that life is all about learning and growing, and that life can be a real adventure of learning, growing, compassion, and joyfulness."                                      -- John Mackey Dear Worldly Philosophers,   Last weekend, my wife and I had a chance to spend an afternoon and evening with John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, the world’s fastest growing "natural foods" grocery chain.   In a short 20 years, he turned a small grocery store in Austin, Texas, into a gigantic "natural foods" phenomenon.  My wife and I frequently shop and even dine at the Whole Foods store in Manhattan.  If you haven't been to a Whole Foods Market, try it.  You'll love it.    Over the past two years, we’ve become good friends.  We recently attended a debate on "Are Americans happy?" between Columbia "Earth Institute" professor Jeffrey Sachs ("no") and George Mason economist Tyler Cowen ("yes").  The debate was held in the ornate auditorium Gotham Hall in New York City and sponsored by The Economist magazine.  Afterwards, we went out to dinner and saw "Pygmalion," the classic play by George Bernard Shaw.  The Happy Warrior   John Mackey is a happy worldly philosopher.  In addition to running one a $6 billion corporation, John has wide interests in economics, geo-politics, religion, healthy living, and sports.  He lives in his hometown of Austin, Texas, and spends his weekends at his 720-acre ranch with his wife Deborah.  They both practice meditation and yoga.  He is in great shape, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he lives to be 100.  John is a vegan and an advocate of animal welfare.  He contributes regularly to dozens of good causes, including his own new non-profit organization FLOW, which focuses on "Peace through Commerce" programs on college campuses.  (Go to www.flowidealism.org).  I’m a supporter.    He is a voracious reader of books, including my own.  He told me he has read three times The Making of Modern Economics (my history of the great economic thinkers from Adam Smith to the present).  "I love this book and recommend it to all my friends."  What’s not to like about John Mackey!      Fulfilling Adam Smith’s Dream of a "Harmony of Interests"   John is also a revolutionary and visionary.  He is not content to create one of the most exciting and profitable food companies in the world.  He is transforming the corporate world through what he calls "Conscious Capitalism."  Conscious capitalism aims to fulfill the vision of Adam Smith’s "system of natural liberty," wherein business develops a natural harmony of interests with its customers, suppliers, employees, the community, and shareholders.  The traditional model of capitalism is that there is a conflict of interests between the company and its stakeholders.  Mackey thinks his Whole Foods model can counter this old view without destroying the profit motive or natural liberty, and without resorting to the entitlement mentality of labor unions.  It’s not easy, but it can be done.    I used Whole Foods Market as a case study when I taught a course on libertarian CEOs at Columbia Business School a few years ago.  Mackey has created a brilliant strategy of employee empowerment, decentralized decision making, and involvement of the local community (Whole Foods gives 5% of its profits away each year to local non-profit organizations).  By pursuing loftier purposes rather than profits directly, Whole Foods has fulfilled its goals and become profitable at the same time.    John Mackey is not content to preach to the choir.  He is constantly promoting his model of conscious capitalism to a wider audience.  Here in New York I saw him speak before members of the Rainforest Alliance.  A few months ago he met with Paul McCartney and his wife about the natural foods business and his new London store (already successful).  On another occasion, he spoke before the World Health Congress about Whole Foods Market’s Health Savings Accounts, an alternative to socialized medicine.  He spoke along side Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Grameen Bank and the micro credit revolution.  (The Whole Planet Foundation is a major funder of micro credits in Latin America.)    A Conference John Mackey Never Misses   John is also a regular attendee and speaker at my annual conference, FreedomFest.  He told me, "Mark, I turn down hundreds of invitations to speak each year, but FreedomFest is one I’d pay to attend.  I wouldn’t miss it."  At the most recent conference, John spoke four times:  a keynote address on "My Personal Philosophy of Self-Actualization"; a luncheon on "Conscious Capitalism"; a debate on "Animal Welfare"; and a panel on "The Stakeholder Philosophy:  Socially Responsible or Irresponsible?"  (Order copies of John's speeches at FreedomFest '07)   I’m happy to announce that John Mackey will again appear at next year’s FreedomFest, scheduled for July 9-12, 2008, in Las Vegas.  He will be there for the entire three day event, so if you want a chance to meet John and ask him a question, please join us.    We have an incredible line-up of confirmed speakers: Christopher Hitchens, NYTimes #1 Bestselling author, will debate Dinesh D'Souza on "Is Christianity the Problem?" and both will also talk on geo-politics and philosophy.  Plus American poet Jay Parini on Robert Frost; controversial Middle East expert Robert Spencer (author of "The Truth about Muhammad" -- Spencer’s life has been threatened so often that he cannot disclose where he lives); and many back by popular demand such as Charles Murray, Steve Moore, Alex Green, and many more. For full details, please go to www.freedomfest.com.    Come join me, John Mackey, and hundreds of other worldly philosophers, will you?  This is a unique opportunity each year to learn, socialize, network, and celebrate liberty -- an intellectual feast in a fun city.  Click here to register or call Tami Holland, at 1-866-266-5101.    Good living, AEIOU,   Marcus Aurelius   P. S.  The first 100 to sign up for FreedomFest receive an uncirculated U. S. Mint American Eagle silver dollar.  Also, if you register now, you qualify for the "early bird" discount of $100 off the registration fee, $200 off per couple.  Make your plans now to attend "the world’s largest gathering of free minds."