It is difficult to name anyone who, over the last half century, has made more important contributions to the United States legal, political and business systems than Ralph Nader. Indeed, many of the changes that Nader has effected have become so integrated into mainstream culture that his accomplishments are now taken for granted.
For example, did you know that it is Ralph Nader who was responsible for the creation of OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration), the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and the Consumer Product Safety Administration? And did you know that Nader was instrumental in the adoption of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Freedom of Information Act, the Wholesome Meat Act, and the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act? (Indeed, it was Ralph Nader who maneuvered the auto industry into making airbags available on American cars.) However, more than anything else, Nader is responsible for a wholesale shift in contemporary attitudes toward consumer rights, public safety, humane business practices, and open government.
Ralph Nader (1934-) was born in Winsted, Connecticut, the son of Lebanese parents. As a young man, Nader excelled in school, graduating magna cum laude from Princeton University (1955) and with distinction from Harvard Law School (1958). In 1963, at the age of 29, Nader hitchhiked to Washington, DC, where he found a job working for Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Moynihan. Over the next few years, Nader spent time researching for Moynihan, writing for The Christian Science Monitor and The Nation, and advising a Senate subcommittee on automobile safety.
In 1965, when he was 31 years old, Nader published a seminal book, "Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-in Dangers of the American Automobile". The book was a report on the practices of the American auto industry, particularly General Motors. Nader showed that the auto industry consistently sacrificed safety for the sake of profits, even to the point of refusing to implement important features such as seat belts. GM retaliated by hiring private investigators to pry into Nader's life, even going so far as to try to trap him in a compromising position. To GM's surprise, Nader proved to be the most innocent, clean-living person in the entire District of Columbia. The detectives failed to dig up any dirt and when Nader found out about it, he successfully sued GM for invasion of privacy. On March 22, 1966, the President of GM, James Roche, was forced to appear before a Senate subcommittee and publicly apologize to Nader.
Within a year, Nader's book had led to a series of new national automobile safety laws. At the same time, Nader was using his money from the GM settlement to fund even more investigations. In the summer of 1969, Nader hired a large number of young activists who came to D.C. to work on his new projects. Their work was prodigious and highly effective, and they soon came to be called "Nader's Raiders" (a name that was coined by Washington Post reporter William Greider). By 1972, Nader and his co-workers had published 17 books, documenting serious problems in many areas of government and business. There were a large number of investigations related to the public interest, resulting in significant improvements and changes.
Why was Ralph Nader so effective? Aside from his obvious intelligence and persistence, Nader had a genius for organization. His method was to inspire people to take an interest in public affairs, help them set up viable organizations to work towards their goals, and then disengage and let the organizations develop on their own.
Over the years, Nader has inspired the creation of dozens of organizations devoted to investigating many different areas of the law, government, the environment, and public affairs. Perhaps the most famous such organization is Public Citizen, founded by Nader in 1971 to serve as an umbrella organization for a miscellany of projects. (Nader resigned as director in 1980.) Another well-known group of organizations are the Nader-inspired Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), college organizations for idealistic students who want to work on projects in the public interest. (When I was an undergraduate at the University of Waterloo in Canada, back in the early 1970s, I went to see Nader talk. What I heard inspired me, and I went on to start the very first PIRG in Canada.)
In recent years, Ralph Nader has enlarged his crusade into the mainstream political arena by running for President. In 1996 and 2000, he ran as a member of the Green Party, receiving (in 2000) almost 3 percent of the popular vote. In 2004, he ran again, this time as an independent candidate. As a presidential candidate, Nader's presents a platform of enlightened populism. His feeling that there is "too much power and wealth in too few hands" has led him to campaign for workers' rights, affordable housing, environmental justice, universal healthcare, campaign finance reform, free education through college, and more controls on corporate power. He is also in favor of shifting more of the tax burden onto corporations, relieving the strain on middle- and lower-class taxpayers.
On a larger scale, Nader warns of the growing "imperialism" of huge, multinational corporations: an evolution that, he feels, has led to a grand convergence of corporate and government power. As such, Nader opposes what he calls "autocratic trade treaties", such as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade).
There are two sides to Ralph Nader: the dedicated, consumer activist; and the unbending, often intolerant fanatic.
People who study Nader say there are two sides to the man. First, there is the dedicated, consumer activist who has against all odds and in the face of continued opposition managed to inspire and galvanize a large number of people into taking practical, effective action. However, there is also Nader the extremist: an unbending, often intolerant fanatic. For example, Nader not only labors tirelessly for his causes, he demands that others do the same, particularly those who work for him (who are typically paid very little for their efforts).
Over the years, Nader's antipathy towards big business and big government has also served to harden him, turning him into a cynic who refuses to compromise or even consider the arguments of those who disagree with him. Moreover, in the name of the public interest, he has aligned himself with the trial lawyer lobby, often working against legal reforms in a way that is questionable for one who describes his full-time job as "public citizen".
Still, this is only to be expected. The appetite grows upon what it feeds and, for decades, Nader has been a professional iconoclast. As he puts it, "You've got to keep the pressure on, even if you lose. The essence of the citizen's movement is persistence." It is common for such men to become fossilized in their beliefs as they grow older. Nevertheless, Nader is a great man: a highly effective and passionate idealist who has spent a lifetime asking the question, "What can I do for my country?", rather than "What can my country do for me?"
© All contents Copyright 2024, Harley Hahn
Ni vigumu kumtaja mtu yeyote ambaye, katika nusu karne iliyopita, amefanya mchango muhimu zaidi kwa Marekani kisheria, kisiasa na mifumo ya biashara kuliko Ralph Nader. Kwa kweli, mabadiliko mengi ambayo Nader amefanya yameingizwa sana katika utamaduni wa kawaida hivi kwamba mafanikio yake sasa yanachukuliwa kuwa ya kawaida. Kwa mfano, Ralph Nader alikuwa na jukumu la kuanzisha OSHA (Usalama wa Kazi na Afya ya Usimamizi), EPA (Ulinzi wa Mazingira Shirika), na Usimamizi wa Usalama wa Bidhaa ya Watumiaji. Nader alikuwa na jukumu muhimu katika kupitishwa kwa Sheria ya Maji ya Kunywa Salama, Sheria ya Uhuru wa Habari, Sheria ya Nyama ya Afya, na Sheria ya Kitaifa ya Usalama wa Trafiki na Magari. (Kwa kweli, ni Ralph Nader ambaye aliongoza sekta ya magari kufanya vifuniko vya hewa viwepo kwenye magari ya Marekani.) Hata hivyo, zaidi ya kitu kingine chochote, Nader ni wajibu kwa ajili ya mabadiliko ya jumla katika mitazamo ya kisasa kuelekea haki za watumiaji, usalama wa umma, mazoea ya biashara ya kibinadamu, na serikali wazi. Ralph Nader alizaliwa Winsted, Connecticut, akiwa mtoto wa wazazi wa Lebanon. Alipokuwa kijana, Nader alikuwa na sifa nzuri shuleni, akihitimu magna cum laude kutoka Chuo Kikuu cha Princeton (1955) na kwa heshima kutoka Shule ya Sheria ya Harvard (1958). Mwaka 1963, akiwa na umri wa miaka 29, Nader alisafiri kwa gari hadi Washington, DC, ambapo alipata kazi ya kufanya kazi kwa Msaidizi wa Waziri wa Kazi Daniel Moynihan. Katika miaka michache iliyofuata, Nader alitumia muda wake kutafiti kwa Moynihan, kuandika kwa The Christian Science Monitor na The Nation, na kushauri kamati ndogo ya Seneti juu ya usalama wa magari. "Nader aliandika kitabu cha kwanza cha kihistoria cha miaka ya 1960 ""Unsafe at any Speed: The Designed-in Dangers of the American Automobile.""" Kitabu hicho kilikuwa ripoti juu ya mazoea ya viwanda vya magari vya Marekani, hasa General Motors. Nader alionyesha kuwa sekta ya magari mara kwa mara ilidhabihu usalama kwa ajili ya faida, hata hadi hatua ya kukataa kutekeleza vipengele muhimu kama vile mikanda ya usalama. GM ililipiza kisasi kwa kuajiri wachunguzi wa kibinafsi kugundua maisha ya Nader, hata kwenda mbali sana kujaribu kumnasa katika nafasi ya kuhatarisha. Kwa mshangao wa GM, Nader alithibitika kuwa mtu asiye na hatia, mwenye maisha safi zaidi katika Wilaya nzima ya Columbia. "Wafanyakazi wa polisi walifanikiwa kugundua ""mchanga"" na wakati Nader alipogundua juu ya hilo, alifanikiwa kushtaki GM kwa uvamizi wa faragha." Mnamo Machi 22, 1966, Rais wa GM, James Roche, alilazimika kuonekana mbele ya kamati ndogo ya Seneti na kuomba msamaha hadharani kwa Nader. Katika muda wa mwaka mmoja, kitabu cha Nader kilikuwa kimesababisha mfululizo wa sheria mpya za kitaifa za usalama wa magari. Nader pia alitumia fedha alizopata kutoka kwa GM ili kufadhili uchunguzi zaidi. Katika mwaka wa 1969, Nader aliwaajiri vijana wengi wa kisiasa na wa kisiasa wafanye kazi katika mradi wake. "Wakati huo, walianza kufanya kazi kwa bidii na kwa matokeo makubwa, na punde si punde wakaitwa ""Wavamizi wa Nader"" (jina lililotengenezwa na mwandishi wa Washington Post William Greider)." Kufikia mwaka 1972, Nader na wenzake walikuwa wamechapisha vitabu 17 vilivyoeleza matatizo makubwa katika maeneo mengi ya serikali na biashara. Kulikuwa na idadi kubwa ya uchunguzi kuhusiana na maslahi ya umma, na kusababisha maboresho na mabadiliko makubwa. Kwa nini Ralph Nader alikuwa na matokeo sana? Mbali na akili na uvumilivu wake ulio wazi, Nader alikuwa na kipawa cha kupanga mambo. Njia yake ilikuwa kuwachochea watu kujihusisha na masuala ya umma, kuwasaidia kuanzisha mashirika yanayofaa ili kufanya kazi kwa malengo yao, na kisha kujiondoa na kuruhusu mashirika hayo yaendelee kujitegemea. Kwa miaka mingi, Nader amesababisha kuanzishwa kwa mashirika kadhaa yaliyojitolea kuchunguza maeneo mengi tofauti ya sheria, serikali, mazingira, na masuala ya umma. "Mfano wa shirika hili ni ""Public Citizen"" ambalo lilianzishwa na Nadia Nader mwaka 1971 na kuwahusisha watu wengi." Nader alijiuzulu kama mkurugenzi mwaka 1980. "Kundi la pili la mashirika maarufu ni ""Vikundi vya Utafiti wa Maslahi ya Umma"" (PIRGs), mashirika ya chuo kikuu kwa wanafunzi wa itikadi nzuri ambao wanataka kufanya kazi kwenye miradi ya maslahi ya umma." Nilipokuwa mwanafunzi wa kwanza katika Chuo Kikuu cha Waterloo, Kanada, nilienda kumwona Nader akizungumza. Kwa sababu hiyo, nilijitahidi sana kuanzisha kikundi cha kwanza cha PIRG nchini Kanada. Katika miaka ya hivi karibuni, Ralph Nader ameongeza kampeni yake katika uwanja mkuu wa kisiasa kwa kugombea urais. Mwaka 1996 na 2000 alishindana kama mwanachama wa chama cha Green Party, akipata karibu asilimia 3 ya kura za watu. Mwaka 2004 alishindana tena, wakati huu akiwa mgombea huru. Kama mgombea urais, Nader's inatoa jukwaa la populism iliyoelimishwa. "Hakika, hisia yake kwamba kuna ""nguvu nyingi na utajiri katika mikono michache"" imemwongoza kufanya kampeni kwa ajili ya haki za wafanyakazi, makazi ya bei nafuu, haki ya mazingira, huduma ya afya ya ulimwengu, marekebisho ya fedha za kampeni, elimu ya bure kupitia chuo kikuu, na udhibiti zaidi juu ya nguvu za ushirika." Pia anaunga mkono kuhamisha zaidi ya mzigo wa kodi kwenye mashirika, kupunguza mzigo juu ya walipa kodi wa tabaka la kati na la chini. Kwa kiwango kikubwa, Nader anaonya juu ya kuongezeka kwa "ujeshi" wa mashirika makubwa ya kimataifa: mageuzi ambayo, anaona, yamesababisha kuungana kwa nguvu za ushirika na serikali. "Nader pia alitoa maoni yake dhidi ya ""mkataba wa biashara ya kiutawala"" kama vile NAFTA (Mkataba wa Biashara ya Huru ya Amerika Kaskazini) na GATT (Mkataba Mkuu wa Ushuru na Biashara)." Kuna pande mbili za Ralph Nader: mwendeshaji wa shughuli za watumiaji aliyejitolea; na mfuasi asiyeweza kubadilika, mara nyingi asiyeweza kuvumilia. Watu wanaomchunguza Nader wanasema kuna pande mbili za mtu huyo. Kwanza, kuna mtetezi wa watumiaji aliyejitolea ambaye, licha ya hali mbaya na kukabiliwa na upinzani unaoendelea, ameweza kuhamasisha na kuchochea idadi kubwa ya watu kuchukua hatua ya vitendo na yenye ufanisi. Hata hivyo, kuna pia Nader mkali: mfuasi asiyeweza kubadilika, mara nyingi asiyeweza kuvumilia. Kwa mfano, Nader haifanyi kazi bila kuchoka kwa sababu zake tu, anadai wengine wafanye vivyo hivyo, haswa wale wanaomfanyia kazi (ambayo kwa kawaida hulipwa kidogo sana kwa juhudi zao). Kwa miaka mingi, chuki ya Nader kwa biashara kubwa na serikali kubwa pia imemfanya kuwa mgumu, akimgeuza kuwa mtu mwenye kutilia shaka ambaye anakataa kukubaliana au hata kuzingatia hoja za wale ambao hawakubaliani naye. "Aidha, kwa jina la maslahi ya umma, amejiunga na kundi la wanasheria wa kesi, mara nyingi akifanya kazi dhidi ya mageuzi ya kisheria kwa njia ambayo ni ya kutiliwa shaka kwa mtu ambaye anaelezea kazi yake ya wakati wote kama ""raia wa umma.""" Hata hivyo, hilo ni jambo linalotazamiwa tu. Tamaa hukua juu ya kile kinacholishwa na, kwa miongo mingi, Nader amekuwa mtaalamu wa kuharibu sanamu. "Kama anavyosema, ""Lazima uendelee kushinikiza, hata kama unashindwa.""" Kiini cha harakati ya raia ni uvumilivu". Ni jambo la kawaida kwa wanaume hao kuwa na itikadi thabiti wanapokuwa wazee. "Nader ni mtu mkubwa, mwenye ufanisi mkubwa na mwenye shauku, ambaye amechukua maisha yake yote akijiuliza swali, ""Ninaweza kufanya nini kwa nchi yangu?""" "Badala ya ""Nchi yangu inaweza kufanya nini kwa ajili yangu?""" Copyright © 2024, Harley Hahn