Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America
So many people live in the ruins of the American drive for prosperity. The residual mining towns are evidence. If you tell a story about the American worker in the twentieth century, you have to talk about the miner, Appalachia’s heroic archetype. Coal was the something indispensable for the industrial revolution. It is one of the most impactful fo
... See moreImani Perry • South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation
In other cases, the company’s motivations were less ideal. The remoteness and lack of transportation prevented workers from leaving for other jobs or to buy from other, independent merchants. In some cases, companies paid employees with a scrip that was only good at company stores. Without external competition, housing costs and groceries in compan... See more
Company Towns: 1880s to 1935
John Locke, who held that individuals had a right to turn natural resources that belonged to no one into individual property for personal use, through labor. The Lockean idea justified all manner of accomplishments and violations in American history, including the colonial seizure of Native lands and the justification of resource extraction via the
... See moretheatlantic.com • The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing
In most Western Economic Systems, we tend to take for granted that natural resources can be used for human benefit with little regard for their well-being and longevity. These beliefs are deeply ingrained in our beliefs and legal systems.