Suchergebnisse

The author compares the trajectories of three U.S. policies from 1935 to 1952: the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and the Social Security Act (SSA). Agricultural policy expanded beyond the New Deal, labor policy was severely weakened, and social security saw only minor changes. Why? Class coalitions strongly influenced the trajectories of these policies. The coalition supporting the AAA largely maintained, but the coalition supporting the NLRA collapsed. Support from southern planters was particularly important for each policy. Focusing on trajectories rather than merely policy formation more clearly demonstrates the influence of class coalitions over state policy.

The number of animals raised and slaughtered for food in the U.S. has increased dramatically since 1945. We examine how two factors have been fundamental in this expansion of "meat" consumption: the market and the state. U.S. agricultural policies that emerged form the New Deal centered on price supports and production controls. While these policies were aimed at controlling supply, they instead spurred intensive and industrial techniques that resulted in continuous overproduction, especially in corn, wheat and soybeans. As a result, farm organizations and the state promoted "meat" production and consumption as a way to alleviate the surplus. To handle this expansion, intensive and industrial methods reshaped "meat" production, resulting in more oppressive living conditions for animals raised as "meat". We explore this connection between the market, state policy and animal oppression. We also briefly analyze how this relationship has likewise affected workers and peripheral nations in the world economy.