Esther Dyson Quotes
A worker's paradise is a consumer's hell.
Dyson, Esther. Release 2.0: A Design for Living in the Digital Age. Broadway Books, 1997.
Sinclair had written an expose of the meat packing industry – the Jungle – which used as its setting the Armour meat packing factory. It changed the way the public thought about the industry, the role of government and regulation. President Roosevelt took up the reform role, and got Congress to Regulate the quality and cleanliness of the meat packing industry. Sinclair, however not only wanted that reform, but also wanted the labor wages and conditions reformed. He referred to the Armour plant as the fortress.
New Deal opponents are generally thought of as Conservatives. However, the Communists are as much of an opponent as any of the right wing organizations. However, in classic Communist Party style, when Stalin and the Russians became war allies and Russia needed arms and financial assistance from the U. S., the American communists fell into line and flip-flopped on Roosevelt and the New Deal.
In his economic view, managers, accountants, attorneys, owners, shareholders, landlords, were all supported by the workers who have to support themselves and all the others.
At the time, it did seem impossible that labor and capital would ever have harmonious relations. But the notion that slavery would solve the problem is as preposterous as anything ever entered into the American political dialogue. But there were many in the South, and some in the North, who actually believed it. Even 150 years later, while labor and capital relations were much better than pre Civil War, they still could not be described as “harmonious” or “friendly”.
In a capitalistic system, if a company is very successful, it drives its competitors out of business and this leads to monopoly in that field which kills capitalism which depends on competition.
The doctrine of the Southern Cotton industry before the Civil War was that Capital should not only use labor and control labor, but that in true capitalism, Capital should own labor—slavery. This Southern hostility towards labor rights and organized labor was derived from this extremist view of capitalism.
Esther Dyson is a Swiss-born American investor, journalist, author, businesswoman, commentator and philanthropist. She is a leading angel investor focused on health care, open government, digital technology, biotechnology, and outer space. Dyson's career focuses on health and continues to invest in health and technology startups.
