Kelloggs Wants Its Peanuts, And Eat Them Too

I finished reading Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism earlier this week. For me, seven eighths of the book was a fascinating, well-researched read on the roots of modern liberalism. However, it lost me in the last 75 or so pages; but this isn’t a slight on Goldberg’s thesis or writing as much as it is a combination of my ADD and desire to move on to the new Watchmen novel I received as a birthday gift.

One of the interesting parts of Goldberg’s book concerns the relationship of Progressivism and “Big Business”. Many on the left point to the era of the muckrakers as one societal role liberalism played in breaking the collusion existing between corporations and the right. Goldberg asserts that this is a misconception; that “Big Business” actually welcomed government intervention and regulation and worked hand-in-hand with the Wilson and Roosevelt administrations in crafting the very rules that governed them. Why? Simply put, because it crowded out competition. The larger corporations could afford to absorb the economic costs of regulation that the smaller companies could not. And if you’re going to be regulated, why not have a hand in steering it to your advantage? The federal government benefits as well, as fewer companies in a particular industry are easier to manage.

Could this be a continuation on that theme? The CEO of Kelloggs testified before Congress on Thursday calling for new requirements that all food companies have written safety plans, annual federal inspections of facilities that make high-risk foods, as well as other safety measures.