Woodrow Wilson

“Similarly, it was no business of the law in the time of Jefferson to come into my house and see how I kept house. But when my house, when my property, when my so-called private property became a great mine, and men went along dark corridors amidst every kind of danger to dig out of the bowels of the earth things necessary  for the industries of a whole nation and when it was known that no individual owned those mines, that they were owned  by great stock companies, then all the old analogies absolutely collapsed and it became the right of the government to go  down into those mines and see whether human beings were being properly treated in them or not…”

Wilson is saying that when the government of this nation was first formed things were very different. The laws made regarding business and industry do not apply anymore because business and industry were had become more complicated and was in Wilson’s time playing a much bigger role in the everyday lives of every American. At the beginning of this country’s existence, businesses were much more independent of each other and were much smaller. This meant that the community was not nearly as dependent on the success of one single company but rather people had more options and therefore businesses were much more inclined to do things ethically. It is also harder for an employer to get away with unfair conditions or maltreatment when a company is much smaller because the relationship with the employees is much more intimate. However, when companies grew to be so big that those running it and making decisions on how employees are being treated grows to be a whole community in itself, then it becomes much easier to overlook bad conditions, abuse of laborers and unfair wages. In part it is because when a company is so big and employs a substantial portion of a community, that community becomes dependent on its existence and becomes less likely to question things or protest unfairness. This is why it has then become necessary for the laws to change and for government to get more involved. So much more is at stake because so many more people are involved and have so little to do with how things are carried out. There are only a few owners of a mine but hundreds or thousands of workers who are the victim of every over sight and neglect. This means an entire town can suffer because of the way a small group of people decide to run a company and that it is easier to get away with willingly making those decisions.

I definitely agree that government should be involved in business. Especially these days when economics is so complicated and most people including myself have very little understanding of how it actually works. Sometimes it feels intentionally designed that way. It seems like it is very easy, even more so today than Wilson’s day, for companies to get away with corruption or illegal activity. Especially now that money is barely even real anymore. Everything is hypothetical numbers on a computer screen. Also, so much is accomplished on credit so people are getting paid with money that no one even has yet. Over all what I am trying to say is that things were so complicated in Wilson’s time compared to Jefferson’s time just like our time is way more complicated than Wilson’s time and the more complicated things get, the more regulations we need because there is that much more opportunity and ability to manipulate people through business and industry. I also like how Wilson discusses the lack of intimacy between employers and employees. This is another factor that makes corruption, neglect and abuse of employees easier because not only is it harder to complain to a man you have never met but also it leaves the employers out of touch with how things actually work on the front lines of any industry making it harder to properly run that industry even if they wanted to. This is another reason government should get involved. Maybe even those trying to run their company as honestly and efficiently as possible need some government involvement just as assistance.