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Title: Reefer Madness : Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market by Eric Schlosser ISBN: 0-618-44670-2 Publisher: Mariner Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 2004 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.65 (66 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: The Underground U.S. Economy
Comment: Drugs, pornography, and cheap immigrant labor are three areas of known controversy when it comes to the buying and selling of goods and the government's attempts to regulate these economic activities. Yet all three of these areas represent growing, thriving components of the national economy. This latest book by Eric Schlosser examines these three segments of the economy, and while it provides some good insight in some areas, it misses the mark in others.
In the first chapter, the author talks about the fallacies and misleading information about marijuana and how the failed war on drugs has caused countless American tragedies while doing absolutely nothing to stop this very lucrative business from continuing to thrive underground. Many people have been unnecessarily searched; had their property seized under false pretenses; and sometimes have even been killed by the drug police. Schlosser correctly points out these many travesties of the drug war, and he concludes the chapter by stating that the only logical resolution to the problem to legalize the product and tax it.
The chapters on the pornography industry and migrant workers are not quite as good, but they still have some good points to make. Schlosser talks about the frustration faced by illegal workers who want a job and often give in and work in the strawberry fields of California for very low wages. They have no recourse because they are here illegally. And with the pornography industry, Schlosser seems sympathetic to those who are prosecuted for engaging in consensual activity. However, in these two chapters, Schlosser isn't very clear on what should be done to solve the problems. After the chapter on immigrant workers, all Schlosser can do is blame the free market for the problem. The situation is, of course, much more complex than that. The real issue is what to do with migrant workers. If they had full rights and if employers were held accountable for their actions, there wouldn't be a free market problem. It almost seems like Schlosser just threw this in because he couldn't think of any other way to address the issue. With the pornography chapter, Schlosser correctly states that morals cannot and should not be legislated so he manages to provide a little more guidance than he does with the migrant workers problem, but he doesn't say much beyond that.
To help give this book a more humanistic side, Schlosser speaks directly to some of the people involved in these underground markets and he includes direct quotes from many of them. This is a good idea, in my opinion, because it helps the reader gain a better understanding for what is going on and what the people involved are thinking as they involve themselves in these illegal activities.
Black markets, while illegal and unethical, comprise a large part of the U.S. economy. There is very little that can be done to eliminate them completely. But we, as a nation, can make some moves that would minimize the negative impacts of these underground economies. "Reefer Madness" does a decent job in showing how much damage can result when business is forced to go into hiding and he does a fair job (although incomplete) in showing what can be done in some instances to lessen the impact of the black market. These activities will never disappear, but there are many things we can do to keep the problem from getting worse, as "Reefer Madness" correctly points out.
Rating: 5
Summary: three essays that should be invidual books, but worth readin
Comment: After reading the fantastic book Fast Food Nation, I'm willing to read anything that Eric Schlosser publishes. When I heard what the subject matter was for his new book (pot, porn, and illegal labor) I wasn't that interested but I wanted to find out what Schlosser had to say. In the introduction, Schlosser writes that the book is made up of three essays that are mostly unrelated, but these essays were tied together with the idea of the American Underground Economy which pervades the book. Reefer Madness is Schlosser's attempt to show how large the underground economy (meaning, non-taxed and illegal money) is in America. Schlosser discusses the laws and the social conditions that have allowed these things to occur.
The first essay is on Marijuana. Apparently, marijuana is America's number one cash crop, but it is illegal to buy, sell, grow, or possess any amount of marijuana in America. Schlosser gives the history of marijuana legislation and reveals the severity of the punishments regarding marijuana violations (even compared to murder). This essay looks at the applications of marijuana laws throughout United States history. It highlights some of the absurdly harsh penalties given for first time convictions of even trace amounts of pot; this essay also shows the disparity in verdicts for the children of politicians compared to the poor. There are comparisons with the drug laws of other nations and a discussion on the health risks and health concerns regarding marijuana. Very interesting essay.
The second essay deals with illegal labor in California. Specifically, the essay is on the illegal labor in the strawberry industry. This is the shortest essay of the three, but it does a good job in explaining the rise of migrant labor since the 1970's and why farm companies would use this labor. Surprisingly, most of America's strawberries are grown in California and at least half of the labor provided is illegal. The conditions that these workers (from Mexico) live in is horrible and the labor itself is one of the most physically demanding work that one can do on a farm. Illegal labor is becoming a larger and larger sector of some industries as these men (mostly) will work for significantly lower wages just so that they can have work. This essay had more of a human story to it and was more emotionally involving than the Marijuana essay. However, this essay didn't seem to have the societal import that the discussion on marijuana law did.
The third essay focuses on pornography. Schlosser does not touch on the morality side of the pornography issue, but instead deals with the economics of porn. Like the other two essays, this one details the history of pornography in America and happens to be the longest of the three essays. Pornography is big business and the U.S. government has been cracking down on the industry on an off for years. For many years, the leading figure in the industry was one man, Reuben Sturman. The legality of porn is constantly in question and at the base are the very hazy obscenity laws. Much of this essay is about Sturman, his rise to lead the industry and the attempt to convict Sturman.
Any one of these essays could easily become a full length book and would be very interesting individually. Taken together, the tie that binds them is not very strong and the transition between the essays feels a little jumpy. This is an extremely interesting book and one that I am very glad that I read. Individually, these are excellent essays, but when taken together, they lose some of the narrative force that Schlosser excels at. This is worth reading, without question.
Rating: 4
Summary: Good Book, I enjoyed it.
Comment: This book caters to a varity of differnt readers in several differnt ways. For example: If your looking for factual information on the history of any of the three industries this book covers them greatly and also gives rather detailed information in the examples used. On the other hand if you are the kind of reader who enjoys stories you will love reading about the actual happenings of the people involved in theese industries.
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Title: Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser ISBN: 0060938455 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 08 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John De Graaf, David Wann, Thomas H. Naylor, David Horsey, Scott Simon, John de Graaf ISBN: 1576751996 Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Pub Pub. Date: August, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich ISBN: 0805063897 Publisher: Owl Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Reefer Madness : A History of Marijuana by Larry "Ratso" Sloman ISBN: 0312195230 Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Pub. Date: 15 November, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things by Barry Glassner ISBN: 0465014909 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: May, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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