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this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
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Asklemmy
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Uh, didn't the rich rather famously buy political influence back then as well?
Yes, but not at the same scale. They've become masters at it in the modern age.
I dunno, from what I’ve read about political machines in the gilded age it was really just as bad back then.
People worked 12 hour shifts 6 days a week back then with no minimum wage. A lot of people lived in company towns and didn't even get paid in real money. Child labor was legal and widespread, although some shit hole states are getting back to that.
Things are bad now but anyone who thinks it's as bad as it was in the gilded age is either delusional or extremely ignorant. There's a reason the progressive era happened, people were pushed beyond their limits and propaganda couldn't make up for that anymore.
It helps that the field of psychology has come a long way, and it helps further that being a psychologist to help people pays peanuts, but being a psychologist who helps write ad campaigns to make sure the ads have the most psychological impact pressuring people to buy pays big bucks.