I’m a north shore resident, previously early tech company employee then founder of a community investment platform. My first job was at Market Basket Rowley, until we amicably parted in 2004 when I refused to cut my hair (their policy on this has evolved, an example of their objective reasoning and evolving with the times)

Market Basket under Arthur T. Demoulas stands as a beacon of stakeholder capitalism in a corporate landscape often dominated by short-term profits and shareholder primacy. Rather than squeezing margins to please Wall Street, Artie T. reinvested in his people and his communities—offering industry-leading wages and benefits to employees, low everyday prices to customers, and steady supplier relationships built on trust, not leverage. The result was a wildly loyal workforce and customer base who didn’t just shop or work at Market Basket—they believed in it. When a boardroom coup ousted Artie T. in 2014, it wasn’t private equity or regulators that restored him—it was the unprecedented uprising of thousands of workers and customers, a spontaneous movement of solidarity that brought a $4.5 billion company to a halt in defense of values that transcended the bottom line.

Market Basket's story is a rare and powerful testament to the idea that treating employees, customers, and local communities as partners—not inputs—can yield both moral and material success. It disrupts the false dichotomy between doing good and doing well. In a moment when corporate consolidation and profit extraction threaten the soul of American capitalism, Market Basket proves another way is possible. It should be protected not just as a successful business model, but as a living example of how shared prosperity and mutual respect can be the foundation of enduring value.