American Muckraking of Technology since 1900

Abstract

This study contrasts the muckraking of Ray Stannard Baker and others in the early 20th century with that of Ralph Nader, Vance Packard, and others recently. The study defines muckraking—a term often loosely used—and points out that muckrakers of both periods generally attacked those whom muckrakers see as in control of (mostly) dehumanizing technology. Most muckrakers seek to increase the power of individuals and to make business and government more responsive, yet muckrakers never expressed a coherent, integrated philosophy in any period.