Evan Urquhart

Last example- TOWELS! My parents had most of the same towels when I moved out that they'd had when I was a kid. Now, I find we're buying new towels maybe every other year.

I assume the culprit is capitalism, though I'd love a business reporter to go deeper than that. Why can't I spend more dollars to get better quality goods, even though I desperately want to? Why do I feel cheated and ripped off when I buy the $15 towel instead of the $2 one?

Something is deeply wrong. Everything in our lives is poorly made, falling apart. It wasn't always this way.

And, I think part of the problem on the left is that people now under-rate what work can be. Not long ago there were people who did high quality, skilled work making clothes, furniture, shoes, appliances.

I'm so intrigued as to where the idea of underrating work comes into this, can you explain more?

I think people are really aware of how exploitative and miserable the current labor picture is. It's terrible for factory workers in, say, China, and it's very bad for gig workers and service industry workers here.

But, I think many have lost the positive vision of union work as there was in the 70s and 80s (when I was a child, and unions were strong). The vision of going to a skilled job where you work hard to make something you're proud of and come home with enough to support yourselves.

And, I connect this to being surrounded by poorly made things because we're not looking at our shoes or our towels or our lamps and thinking "A comrade made this good thing."