Nearly everyone I have talked to has heard of Upton Sinclair, a muckraker at the turn of the 20th Century. And more often than that, people have heard of "The Jungle," one of his masterpieces. Yet I have not encountered a single person who has read the book, nor anyone who knows more about the book than its focus on the meat-packing industry.
True, Sinclair goes into vivid detail regarding one of the main meat production plants in Chicago in the early 1900s. Many of his descriptions are too grotesque to start to explain here, although I'm sure you can gather what the general gist of his writings may have contained. In fact, the novel led to new legislation for checks and balances between the government and the food industry with the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.
Even still, I do not think this is the primary reason the book is not read more often than it is. The last third of the book is devoted to Sinclair's ideas on Socialism and the reasons this could cure America's problems. His information is biased, no doubt, but it is valuable nonetheless. Unfortunately, with the capitalistic society that surrounds the U.S., any evidence that a strong government is the sole answer is sure to be thwarted by nearly everyone in charge.
Is this a good thing? It depends on who is answering the question. Corporations should not be allowed to take advantage of its employees. Governments should not be allowed to take advantage of its citizens. Both do, in more respects than can be described here. It's coincidental that the problems exposed in "The Jungle" are eerily similar to those of many large corporations today. You may argue they are completely different because the meatpacking plants were obviously endangering society.
And you don't think 100 years from now, the same things will be said of numerous businesses today?
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