Where humans and heavy machinery interact, there have always been financial incentives to capital to look the other way over safety concerns. There's some really great footage from GM plants in the 30's from a film they made "Master Hands"[0] that shows workers handling red-hot cranks with hand tools in massive forges and other working conditions that would get them immediately shut down by OSHA today. Those regulations came out of the labor movements of the New Deal and the war/post-war.
I think the most damning thing is that cases of black lung are actually on the rise in Appalachia in the 21st century because companies have managed to slacken worker protections for coal miners.
Tangentially, from what I hear, proffesional blacksmiths prefer to work without gloves, accepting the risk of burns compared to the better grip it gives them.
Where it becomes an issue, is indeed when you are not your own master, and the risk and profit being borne by different people cause warped incentives...
hotpotamus|3 years ago
I think the most damning thing is that cases of black lung are actually on the rise in Appalachia in the 21st century because companies have managed to slacken worker protections for coal miners.
[0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr8rCNaASlc
BlueTemplar|3 years ago
Where it becomes an issue, is indeed when you are not your own master, and the risk and profit being borne by different people cause warped incentives...