"Our goal isn't to close Wal-Mart down. It is to make it a better, more humane company toward its employees and the communities it is in"

Robert Greenwald frames a vision of corporate change that favors reform over eradication. The target is not the existence of a dominant retailer but the quality of its relationships with people and places. By emphasizing employees and communities, he shifts the conversation from market share and consumer prices to dignity, fairness, and social impact. The statement acknowledges Wal-Mart’s vast economic footprint and contends that such scale brings responsibility: a company so embedded in everyday life should be measured by how it treats those who make its success possible and those who live where it operates.

The language rejects a punitive approach in favor of pragmatic accountability. Rather than demonizing, it invites the company to live up to a higher standard, living wages, predictable schedules, safe conditions, accessible healthcare, and respect for worker voice. It also points toward community-centered metrics: supporting local economies, avoiding predatory siting practices, contributing fairly to tax bases, and mitigating harms to small businesses. “More humane” suggests not only policy changes but a cultural shift, where efficiency and low prices do not come at the expense of human well-being.

Implicit is a theory of change that relies on public scrutiny, consumer expectation, shareholder pressure, and worker organizing. The goal is leverage, not liquidation, recognizing that millions depend on the retailer for employment and affordable goods. Reform, then, becomes a path that preserves benefits while correcting harms. It’s a call to broaden the definition of corporate success beyond quarterly earnings to include the moral and civic health of the ecosystems in which a company operates.

Ultimately, the statement reflects faith in the possibility of institutional improvement. It treats capitalism as modifiable, not monolithic, and argues that the most valuable victories are those that turn influential actors into better neighbors, because when a giant moves even a little toward humanity, the ripple effects can be enormous.