The concept of the robber baron is another case of the Progressives* taking a part of culture and warping it to remove its meaning and drag down Western culture. They have done such a good job that if you look for a definition it skips the original medieval source of the word and ignores modern examples. Welcome to Progressive* education.
The real robber barons were men who had strongholds in key locations on trade routes. They would force merchants going through to fork over large sums in order to pass. The fees were not fair in any sense. They were robbing the traders to line their own coffers. This made them rich, put a damper on trade and increased the price of goods. They gave nothing. They only took.
Move forward to the industrial age in America. There were a group of men who developed industries and became very wealthy doing so. Think of Carnegie in steel, Rockefeller in oil or Vanderbuilts in shipping. The myth here is that these men got rich by robbing the working class. In reality they became wealthy while lowering the cost of the products they produced while they provided jobs for millions of workers. They understood that if the workers could make enough to buy the products they were producing then everyone benefitted.
The list could go on beyond that era in American history. Edison and Bell brought us into the day of electricity and communication. Ford made the automobile something that anyone could afford. Sears brought the material goods of the city to the isolated farmer. Sony opened the world of entertainment. Bill Gates would qualify as a robber baron. People like Jeff Bezos would also fit the bill. The key is that these people brought prosperity to millions while they made millions. It is called free enterprise. They are definitely robber barons in the good sense of the word.
In the historic sense of the term the modern robber barons are the people who have lived in a thriving location like California, amassed a fortune from its blessings, done everything they can to turn it into a socialist paradise and when the fan starts to get clogged with the feces, move to a free state with their wealth. They have joined the elite by amassing their wealth. In many cases they have done little to benefit the common man. They have done everything to destroy prosperity for those outside of their little circle. Then, when the house of cards is ready to collapse they cash in their chips and run.
California is on the verge of collapse. Virginia is starting down that road. Colorado is testing the waters. The modern robber barons have their sites set on Texas and Florida. They want a return of feudalism with them in the castles. We live in interesting times.
*(Liberals, educators, socialists, communists, elites, Rinos, Democrats, leftists, Never Trumpers, etc)
homo unius libri
If you believe everything was that rosy for the working man, you need to read a little more about coal mining and being paid in scrip to pay overpriced things at the company store. Some of the big investors in the coal companies were the very men that you just named and others like them. I won't go into detail about all the men women and CHILDREN that were murdered by company guards.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to respond without sounding ignorant and hard hearted. I can concede your basic points. You live in the area so you have more knowledge.
DeleteI did a quick read in a Saturday Evening Post article.
https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/09/buried-history-west-virginias-coal-wars/
I may get around to commenting on that in another post. It seems to go along with what you say.
One of the books I read is called "The Myth of the Robber Barons". I don't have it out right now but I don't remember any discussion of the coal industry. One of the thoughts I had dealt with the Communist activity of the time but the only reference I could find showed that the UMWA were aware of the problem and warning their workers of the Communist threat.
Things were not rosy for the working man. They never have been but they are a lot more rosy here than anywhere else in the world.
Grace and peace