Upton Sinclair's the Jungle was a work of pure fiction - did they not teach that to you in history class? In terms of the economics of the day (the corporatist economics), the meat packers themselves supported government regulation and were in the forefront of the effort to extend it so as to ensnare their smaller, unregulated competitors. Sinclair himself was viewed as dishonest and untruthful, by none other than trust-buster TR himself. Further, Sinclair was point-by-point refuted by the US Congress itself, prior to passage of the Meat Act in 1906. By the way, the government inspected meat packing plants long before this law was passed.
Sinclair founded the same Intellectual Socialist Society best known perhaps for spawning the journalist claiming the USSR was the future and that "it works."
Well, if you like the mass starvation and slaughter of millions of people, it was a ringing success.
If you want to call that capitalism, be my guest - my students will learn the facts of history and decide for themselves what to make of folks like Sinclair. As for the FDA - let's just say you have a "loose" touch with reality.
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branchandroot
The "Good Professor"
Date: 2009-08-03 05:20 pm (UTC)Sinclair founded the same Intellectual Socialist Society best known perhaps for spawning the journalist claiming the USSR was the future and that "it works."
Well, if you like the mass starvation and slaughter of millions of people, it was a ringing success.
If you want to call that capitalism, be my guest - my students will learn the facts of history and decide for themselves what to make of folks like Sinclair. As for the FDA - let's just say you have a "loose" touch with reality.