During the period in the US from 1890 to 1920, the so-called Progressive Era contributed to an enormous amount of social change. Because of Progressivism, unregulated capitalism came to a grinding halt, and governmental regulations began to help alleviate poverty, especially in large, industrialized urban areas. Nearly one hundred years after the Progressive Era has ended, it appears more than ever that the people need strong governmental regulations to help keep many of the negative effects of capitalism, such as environmental pollution, in check.
The Progressive Era ushered in a new role for government in America. For example, many social problems, such as poor working conditions in the meat packing industry, caught the attention of the government (PBS). Thus, the Pure Food and Drug and the Meat Inspection Acts in 1906 were enacted by the federal government (PBS). This was landmark legislation because it marked a more expansive and intrusive role for government in a young democratic society, changing the way businesses operated at the time.
Certainly, the Progressive Era has taught 21st-century America a lot of lessons. One of those lessons is that private profiteers cannot always be relied upon to provide adequate working conditions (with clean environments and livable wages). Moreover, once they become extremely profitable – often at the expense of labor – they may monopolize their respective industry. At the turn of the 20th century, President Theodore Roosevelt was instrumental in breaking up large “trusts” which monopolized a given industry, thereby controlling prices and preventing competition (PBS).
In the 21st century, it seems that things are returning full circle to the Gilded Age which marked capitalist expansionism, and ruthless corporate practices. For example, the media – especially the alternative media – was dominated by the DAPL protests for several months. At the expense of tribal sacred lands and the groundwater of millions of affected residents, Bakken Oil wanted to finish their pipeline which brought tar sands oil to the US for refining. The federal government did little to prevent the pipeline from completion until the Army Corps of Engineers decided to halt Bakken -- by promising further investigation of the pipeline’s environmental consequences. The Standing Rock Sioux were given a reprieve, but Bakken’s pipeline may be delayed for only a short period. DAPL is but one example of the government playing a reduced role in protecting the environment in favor of private industry.
Certainly, especially with regards to the environment and climate change, the government should play a more proactive role in limiting the unchecked profiteering by corporations. Granted, there are instances where the government should be lax, and allow companies with a proven track record of environmental safety the opportunity to compete in the marketplace. However, a laissez-faire government which does nothing to prevent even more carbon emissions, oil spills, and other chemical spills is not doing one of its jobs – protecting the safety of its people. This is the function and expressed purpose of the EPA.
Finally, there is nothing wrong with capitalism, and free market competition. However, when corporations profit by being irresponsible, there should be more – not less – governmental oversight. Unfortunately, a return to the Gilded Age is on the horizon, and Americans must become more proactive in demanding that their tax dollars work to protect them from corporate excesses.
Works Cited
PBS. “The Progressive Movement (1900-1918).” 2013, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/eleanor-progressive/. Accessed 02 Jan. 2017.
