why would a store exist if you didn’t have to pay for stuff in it?
Not the point of my argument
"Some shoplifting shouldn't be a crime" != "You don't have to pay for things at a store"
So what do you think should happen if someone takes stuff without paying?
So what do you think should happen about exploitative-by-default corporate practices?
I have no idea what you're talking about or how that relates to the problem of people stealing from stores.
Then you did not read
Re:The Privatization of Policing
by dragonwriter on Monday January 02, 2023 @07:18PM
(#34225698)
Well, wage theft is technically a crime in some jurisdictions, but almost never prosecuted even where it is, leaving only civil compensatory remedies. Treating far more minor (both in absolute value and relative to the wealth of the victim) cases of tangible personal property theft in the form of shoplifting, which has basically mirror-image class dynamics, the same way way doesn’t seem unfair.
It shouldn't be a crime, considering how much any given $XB corporation owes to the public in negative externalities (e.g. lobbying for antisocial policies, wage theft) and their abuse of public goods (e.g. overfishing, they need to know my address and phone number for free). If shoplifting were considered debt collection, 'evil corporations' have paid barely a fraction.