Alienated America

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(03-06-2019, 12:48 PM)Dill Wrote:
I'm not going stand idly by while someone criticizes capitalism, the basis of our national success!

I'm going to pitch in and help . . . .   You are describing what Marx called "free labor."  Free in the double sense that workers were freed from any means o feeding themselves (e.g., owning a few acres of land) and free in the sense they were not slaves, so you didn't have to house and feed them yourself, or care for them when sick.  Imagine slaves paying for their room and board (i.e. wages recouped by the capitalist) and that is close to the system you are describing here--except mine workers were free to leave if they wanted--and starve.

Unions mitigated this exploitation to some degree, but only to a degree. "Right to work" legislation emerges from those historical battles.  

"Ya load 16 tons, and whaddaya get . . . ?"

"......another day older and deeper in debt....."

Absolutely agree.  Capitalism with a blend of some other philosophies is good, unfettered capitalism is good for only a select few.  

I grew up in the foothills, both my father and his father mined coal, albeit strip mining.  They were fortunate in that they worked for a mine owner that was a local, and operated equipment, versus going underground.  They had it good......others were not so fortunate.  It's quite interesting to note that as the jobs dwindle, they have become safer and safer and pay well now.  Although some are still fighting to get their black lung settlements, it's a far cry from what it was.  Inez, Ky does not have safe drinking water, and at times has no water to some citizens at all.

A large problem with the way things were done in the mountains was that a lot of these lands were in families for generations, some native lands, and that's all the locals knew.  Farming, gathering, and hunting on their own lands was how they fed and clothed themselves.  It was unfortunate they were so naive about what was beneath their feet.  I've read accounts of farmers just using outcroppings of coal to heat and use for blacksmithing.  They couldn't believe anyone wanted to buy the lands where cattle had to have two legs shorter than the other because of the terrain.   Once that was gone, and they were working for their keep, they really had no options to get out, because they had no means to support a move.  It was a really dark time.