HISTORY
The hero of Atlas Shrugged , John Galt , is a ruthless captain of industry who struggles against stifling regulations that stand in the way of commerce and profit . To many of Rand ’ s readers — especially corporate executives — Galt ’ s supreme self-reliance devoted to the pursuit of self-interest under capitalism seemed to embody the core American beliefs .
These were the ideas that drove the chemical companies in their lucrative campaign to spread hydrocarbon poisons across America . They knew best and an upstart like Rachel Carson — a woman to boot — was to be ridiculed out of existence . She was , moreover , bad for business .
Velsicol , which manufactured chlordane , threatened to sue her publisher for libel . Pesticide advocates claimed that without chemicals , agriculture would collapse . In 1963 , Monsanto published The Desolate Year which described a starving world without chemical pest control .
Figure 7 : A 1960s protest illustration
Figure 8 : A 1960s protest illustration
Two scientists , later found to be paid by the chemical industry , attacked Carson ’ s criticisms of DDT even while studies were proving that mosquitoes everywhere were acquiring resistance to it because of its overuse in agriculture .
Allegations that Carson was just a hysterical woman appeared both in the pages of chemical and agricultural trade journals as well as in the popular press . A reviewer in Time criticised her “ emotion-fanning words ” and characterised her argument as “ unfair , onesided and hysterically overemphatic ”. He traced her “ emotional and inaccurate outburst ” to her “ mystical attachment to the balance of nature ”.
Despite this , Silent Spring became a bestseller . It caught the attention of President John F Kennedy who called for an investigation that substantiated Carson ’ s findings . Congressional hearings took place at which Carson testified .
The Toxic Substances Control Act which followed was Silent Spring ’ s greatest legal vindication . It banned or severely restricted all six compounds indicated in the book and assumed responsibility for testing new chemicals .
The second thread interesting to pursue following the publication of the book was its part in corroding public faith in the trustworthiness of corporations , particularly the chemical indus-
45 Grassroots Vol 21 No 3 November 2021