There’s certainly something to be said for the fact that shoplifting has entered the Overton window in the last few years. I see on tiktok probably weekly videos of people suggesting that shoplifting is not very serious, how to nick things at self checkout, how stealing from faceless corporations is hardly stealing at all…

I feel like as a whole people are more likely now than in the recent past to see their relationship with corporations as being adversarial and this is just one facet. It is hard to blame anyone for feeling this way, as consumers and employees are becoming more disempowered. Additionally, the shopping experience has become much less personal. It is hard to justify stealing from a shop where the owner goes to your church and knows your dad. But with a multinational company where you can’t even get a real person on the phone, maybe that feels different for some people.

I’m not saying I agree, but the more people who think companies are “evil”, the more types of disobedience will be seen as reasonable.