History can be defined as an account of man’s progress: From hunter-gatherers to pioneers of industry, man has evolved from surviving to thriving. Success came to those who used; use the spear to live, use the plow to feed, and use the cage to contain. One could credit the survival of man to our capacity to use. No longer is progress defined by how we survive, but rather how much profit we can produce, how many amenities we can create, and how many unnecessary ‘necessities ' we can mass produce. This is reflective of how much we have progressed. However, Nicholas Carr’s book The Shallows, John Steinbeck’s novel Grapes of Wrath and other works shed light on the side-effects of progress fueled by exploitation. In mankind 's eternal quest for
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Much like the environment, man also can be disenfranchised by the single-minded track that progress travels on. Steinbeck’s novel Grapes Of Wrath illustrates the inhumanities that progress can induce; from the evicted families who were cleared so the banks could “kill the land with cotton,” to starving children who saw “fallow fields which might produce food but not profit,” and the thousands of families scrabbling for a few hundred jobs. Sadly, these injustices do not only exist in the past, they still exist in Immokalee, Florida, where workers have been subjected to slavery, abuse, and human trafficking. This caused the creation of The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, who have worked to free over 1,200 workers from forced labour and poor conditions (CIW). They argue that these problems can be prevented if the “demand side” boycotts “the artificially low cost of US produce picked by workers in degrading conditions,” (CIW). However, there is a distinct conflict of interests: often times the ‘demand side’ is more concerned with progressing financially than morally. This conflict is demonstrated when Smithfield, a meat packing company, attracted Mexican immigrants to work in their factory. However, Smithfield agreed with immigration authorities that 15 immigrant workers could be arrested each day, in order not to impact production (Food, Inc.). Workers are another tool to be wielded in order to chase the unattainable standards progress sets for tomorrow. They are disposable, and can be replaced when they become worn or ambitious. Evidently, the relentless nature of progress encourages man to wield his brethren as tools to fulfill his
Much like the environment, man also can be disenfranchised by the single-minded track that progress travels on. Steinbeck’s novel Grapes Of Wrath illustrates the inhumanities that progress can induce; from the evicted families who were cleared so the banks could “kill the land with cotton,” to starving children who saw “fallow fields which might produce food but not profit,” and the thousands of families scrabbling for a few hundred jobs. Sadly, these injustices do not only exist in the past, they still exist in Immokalee, Florida, where workers have been subjected to slavery, abuse, and human trafficking. This caused the creation of The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, who have worked to free over 1,200 workers from forced labour and poor conditions (CIW). They argue that these problems can be prevented if the “demand side” boycotts “the artificially low cost of US produce picked by workers in degrading conditions,” (CIW). However, there is a distinct conflict of interests: often times the ‘demand side’ is more concerned with progressing financially than morally. This conflict is demonstrated when Smithfield, a meat packing company, attracted Mexican immigrants to work in their factory. However, Smithfield agreed with immigration authorities that 15 immigrant workers could be arrested each day, in order not to impact production (Food, Inc.). Workers are another tool to be wielded in order to chase the unattainable standards progress sets for tomorrow. They are disposable, and can be replaced when they become worn or ambitious. Evidently, the relentless nature of progress encourages man to wield his brethren as tools to fulfill his