Progressive Matters
The discontent in the U.S. is more than palpable. Income and wealth inequality continue to soar. The middle class is getting hammered. Fifty million are poor. Americans are disheartened about the nation’s course. According to a new Gallup poll, 82% of voters believe the country is on the wrong track. Another poll from the Associated Press says one in four registered voters have hardly any confidence their vote will be counted. Both major presidential candidates have very high negatives. Many people are fed up with the choices the two major parties dish up. In the wake of the Bernie Sanders campaign and the spark it generated, there seems to be an opportunity for progressives to advance their ideas.
Interviewed by David Barsamian.
Recorded at the American Museum of Tort Law.
2 CDs
Speaker
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader, a legendary figure, has spent a lifetime fighting on behalf of ordinary people. Life magazine ranked him as one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century. The Atlantic named him one of the hundred most influential figures in U.S. history. Founder of Public Citizen, he is a long-time advocate for consumer safety and workers’ rights. He rose to fame in the 1960s when he took on General Motors and its unsafe Corvair car. His 1965 book Unsafe At Any Speed not only created a sensation but also was instrumental in the enactment of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. His efforts helped create the Environmental Protection Agency. He has exposed the misdeeds of the corporate sector as well as of the political system. In recent years he has led the struggles around NAFTA, the WTO, corporate welfare, and single-payer health care. He is the author of numerous books including Return to Sender, Unstoppable, To the Ramparts, Breaking Through Power, and The Rebellious CEO: 12 Leaders Who Did it Right. At 90, Citizen Nader is as active as ever.
Anthony –
I had only caught the second part of the Nader interview and it stopped me in my tracks. Completely changed my view of him from my irritation/opinion of him in the role of presidential spoiler. I had somewhat already backed away from that opinion, but had not dug into it.
Thomas Rauchfuss –
When our children’s children ask about great people that they have heard about – Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine, James Madison, and (moving ahead centuries) … we will tell them about William Buckley, Gore Vidal, Noam Chomsky, and … Ralph Nader. These are informed, objective, opinionated, iconoclastic, worldly, complicated intellects, who orate and advocate on a large stage. It is expected that one disagrees with some of Nader’s views, but the goodness shows through, emanating from his own idiosyncratic commitment to the welfare of mankind.