“Greed is Good” is the opposite of freedom and democracy and free markets.  This destructive notion is beginning to crumble in the United States, says renowned investigative reporter Eric Schlosser, widely known for Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness. In spite of what he calls a very dark time in America, Mr. Schlosser is optimistic that Americans are beginning see the devastating results of current policies, to recognize that the Radical Right has tried to destroy the former American consensus -- a belief in a strong Middle Class; that workers deserve a decent wage; that safety, health and a clean environment benefit everyone alike; that government can do much good for people, as well as doing good for corporations.

The “free market,” like Santa Claus, Mr. Schlosser reminds us, is a myth -- identifying himself as a great believer in markets being useful for efficiency -- but markets are tools, he reiterates. If you worship your tools, he says, you have a hollow, shallow religion. He believes America needs to have an honest discussion about the legitimate role of government in constraining economic activity. At the moment, he reports, government is massively supporting, underwriting and advancing the private interests of a host of concentrated industries, from agriculture and food to oil to the mass media.

There’s simply nothing inevitable about the enormous social, political and economic problems created in the past 30 years, he reports. Companies can profit by selling healthy food as well as by selling unhealthy food as they do today, he says, we can reward companies that are environmentally responsible, pay a decent wage and sell products that do not harm people rather than continuing today’s devastating practices.

Mr. Schlosser also reports on today’s prohibition-driven and thriving black market in marijuana, sex and vulnerable workers. It results, he reports, from what have been fundamental changes in American society that have taken place since the early 1970s -- what he calls a remarkable worship of the “free market” and of money and what he considers an astounding lack of compassion.

Choices have been made in every case he cites, Mr. Schlosser reminds us. Today, corporate influence has resulted in all kinds of government subsidies -- yes, there is deep hypocrisy when “free market” rhetoric and demands for government protection at the expense of the public come from the same mouths. And, he is confident, this very serious condition CAN be reversed. He sees a growing resistance and the beginnings of serious challenges within the larger culture to the exploitation and degradation that has been unchecked for decades.

Mr. Schlosser is one of a valiant few journalists filling in the gaping hole created in American society when mass media abandoned their public and democratic responsibilities in favor of profits. His goal in writing his articles and books, he says, is to let us see what is going on, to make people think.  Ideally, he hopes different people can read his books and come away with different ideas. It’s an idea whose time has come.  Again.

[This Program was recorded April 19, 2004, in Atlanta, Georgia, US.]

Conversation 1

Eric Schlosser tells Paula Gordon and Bill Russell how he became interested in the subjects that led to his books.  He describes investigative reporters’ long and noble tradition.

Conversation 2

Both Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness are business books, Mr. Schlosser says and explains.  The biggest industry in America’s biggest state -- California -- is agriculture, most of it dependent on human hands picking the produce, Mr. Schlosser reports. Vital immigrant labor, legal and illegal, are exploited in ways resembling the Middle Ages, he says, describing how critical these people are to all. Today’s stark economic class distinctions are very worrisome to the future of the U.S., he says. Adam Smith is much quoted, little understood, and probably irrelevant to Information Age economics, Mr. Schlosser says, then uses meatpacking, Wal-Mart and others to explain “externalities.”

Conversation 3

American industry’s absolute dependence on government subsidies, profits from government and governmental infrastructure support make a joke of “free market” rhetoric, Mr. Schlosser demonstrates.  He gives additional examples from America’s thriving Black Market, from marijuana to the so-called “war on drugs” to labor. The idea of “prohibition” of all kinds is explored. The role of money in the United States’ underground economy is introduced.

10:04 secs

Conversation 4

Theology, money, drugs and ethnicity converge around marijuana and pornography, Mr. Schlosser says and expands. He compares the recreational uses of anti-impotence drugs and marijuana.  Most people sent to prison for marijuana and drug crimes in the U.S. are poor, black or Latino, while young white people use drugs at the same rate, he says, and explains why. Both _Nation_ and _Madness_ look at fundamental changes in American society since the early 1970s, he says, and links worship of the Free Market and money to the lack of compassion underlying “Greed is Good.” He’s optimistic the U.S. is moving away from that obsession and calls for an honest discussion of the legitimate role of government in constraining economic activity.

Conversation 5

“Free Market,” like Santa Claus, is a myth, Mr. Schlosser says, describing the current reality of constant business-friendly interventions, including the oil cartel the Bush Administration never criticizes.  Declaring himself a great believer in markets under some circumstances, Mr. Schlosser reminds us that government can do good for citizens as well as corporations, pointing out hypocricies, optimistic that the U.S. is moving out of a very dark period.  Today’s centralized, industrialized food system is only 25 years old, he says, describing the enormous costs it currently imposes on the nation -- obesity, water and air pollution, diseases, antibiotic resistance -- but it’s neither inevitable nor sustainable, he insists, and expands.

Conversation 6

Industry concentration affecting many markets, including the media, are why his information is “news” to Americans, Mr. Schlosser says, explaining how news became bland, celebrity-driven and dangerous.  He concludes with optimism.

Acknowledgements