Ralph Nader is one of the underappreciated heroes of the modern era. Despite all that he’s done for us, until a few days ago, I didn’t even realize he was still around (and I’d like to think I know a thing or two about history and current events). According to Google Trends, nowadays searches for Al Gore (a politician at the same time as Nader) beats Nader in trends 3 to 1. Despite this lack of recognition, Nader has had a massive influence on the United States, influences that stay with us today: both on the American consumer, corporation, and government.
I’ll be going over these achievements today.
Unsafe at Any Speed
Ralph Nader’s first entry into the world of consumer advocacy came in the form of his 1965 book “Unsafe at Any Speed,” a scathing indictment of companies’ failures to make safe automobiles. The book doesn’t mince words: its first sentence reads,
For over half a century the automobile has brought death, injury and the most inestimable sorrow and deprivation to millions of people.
Nader goes on to address the failings of specific car models, braking, crash protection, and more. His fundamental argument was that companies could make their cars safer, but didn’t. And the government wasn’t forcing them too. “Unsafe at Any Speed” was immediately successful in its goal: it drew considerable governmental attention to the issue. Less than a year after its publishing, Ralph Nader testified in the Senate about automobile safety. A mere ten months after the first printing, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was signed into law. This placed many of Nader’s recommendations into federal law, including airbags and improved braking systems. The Act is still in effect today, and influences whether car companies have features such as rearview cameras. After the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the vehicle death toll in the United States dropped considerably: the 2014 death toll is five times lower than the one in 1965. While Nader wasn’t the only player here, and it wasn’t his efforts exclusively that saved - as he estimates - at least 3.5 million lives, but he was certainly a key factor.
Nader Does Everything That Needs Doing
Ralph Nader didn’t stop with the auto industry, either. No, he was just getting started. He went on to found a number of charitable organizations, and led efforts in areas as disparate as pollution and nuclear power. According to his website:
Nader also played a pivotal role in advancing and improving several major federal consumer protection laws such as the motor vehicle safety laws, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Pure Food and Drug Act, the Clean Air Act, and the landmark Freedom of Information Act, and he worked tirelessly to launch federal regulatory agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
That’s certainly an impressive resume. If I were to dedicate my life to the formation of a single one of those organizations or laws, it would be a remarkable accomplishment. Nader’s done eight times that.
And today? Nader’s doing as he’s always done: supporting the American people with his tireless advocacy. He now advocates for the grounding of the Boeing 747 Max (as a result of the crashes, errors and deaths they have caused), and has taken a firm stance in the Israel-Hamas War. He has opened up the first law museum in the United States, and to this day hasn’t owned a car since 1949.
You can find his website here: https://nader.org/
Below I’ve linked a TED talk he did a few years ago, if you’d like to see him in action yourself: