Back in the day, a Socialist named Upton Sinclair wrote a novel called “The Jungle.” It was about the terrible conditions in the Chicago slaughterhouses.
It caused a lot of people to stop buying processed meat.
The meat packers got together and demanded the government step in.
We got food regulations because the processors wanted to keep making money.
Yeah, the way to change work conditions is strikes, nothing else really helps. But it works for the exact same reason the book did - because if workers are striking they can’t make money, so they agree to work regulations so they can keep profiting.
Back in the day, a Socialist named Upton Sinclair wrote a novel called “The Jungle.” It was about the terrible conditions in the Chicago slaughterhouses.
It caused a lot of people to stop buying processed meat.
The meat packers got together and demanded the government step in.
We got food regulations because the processors wanted to keep making money.
And he wrote it to emphasize the terrible working conditions but everyone, instead, went, “Ew, I’m eating that??”
Great book. More relevant today than ever.
Yeah, the way to change work conditions is strikes, nothing else really helps. But it works for the exact same reason the book did - because if workers are striking they can’t make money, so they agree to work regulations so they can keep profiting.