June 19, 2024

Whole Foods' John Mackey: We Must Change How We Think About Capitalism

1 hour 12 minutes

Today's guest is John Mackey, the co-founder and former CEO of Whole Foods, who just released his memoir, The Whole Story: Adventures in Love, Life, and Capitalism. As befits the entrepreneur who revolutionized grocery shopping from a grim, pragmatic necessity into an exciting, multi-sensory adventure, Mackey's story is far from conventional and we talk frankly about the failures, successes, and psychedelics he encountered while reshaping how Americans think about food, fitness, and free enterprise. We also discuss Love.Life, the chain of holistic health and wellness clubs he's opening this summer.

00:00— Introduction

00:48— The Whole Story: Adventures in Love, Life, and Capitalism

03:45— Capitalism disrupts the status quo

07:57— Whole Foods' bumpy start

15:02— How to foster rich environments for capitalism & innovation

19:00— Why socialism ALWAYS fails

21:05— John Mackey's upbringing

26:38— Where is the next generation heading?

29:53— The Capitalism scapegoat

32:36— Ad: BankOnYourself.com

34:27— LSD and other psychedelics

38:15— Applying "Expand into love, don't contract into fear" to business

40:41— Conscious capitalism as a management philosophy

45:45— Unionization at Whole Foods

51:11— The pros & cons of selling Whole Foods to Amazon

59:48— Mackey's new venture: Love.Life

01:05:19— John Mackey's secrets to health

01:09:38— Capitalism: an infinite game

Previous appearances:

Whole Foods' John Mackey: 'I Feel Like Socialists Are Taking Over', August 10, 2022

Can 'Conscious Capitalism' Make Business a Heroic Enterprise? John Mackey Is Betting Yes, August 14, 2018

Whole Foods' John Mackey on Amazon Merger: 'A Meeting of the Souls.', March 30, 2018

Whole Foods' John Mackey on Veganism, Gary Johnson, and How Regulation Is Stunting Innovation, August 16, 2016

Whole Foods' John Mackey: Why Intellectuals Hate Capitalism August 12, 2015

John Mackey on Whole Foods, Conscious Capitalism, and Life Beyond the Profit Motive, March 21, 2013

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey on the Moral Case for Capitalism, August 10, 2012

John Mackey's Conscious Capitalism, Full Interview Version, October 14, 2009

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