Boeing: A New Report, An Old Story
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- Published on Monday, 19 October 2020 04:20
- Written by editor
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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 2219 ... October 19, 2020
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Boeing: A New Report, An Old Story
Harry Glasbeek
Item 1. A major tobacco company had to deal with regulators in the Czech Republic. The regulators were demanding that rather alarming health hazard signs be put on cigarette packs. The tobacco company argued that, really, tobacco was not that dangerous but, even if it did kill people, it would be wise for the government not to inhibit smoking too much. After all, if it caused premature deaths, tobacco would preserve the government’s revenues. As people age, they use costly health and social well-being programmes way more than younger folk. A few premature deaths might be cost-effective.
The coronavirus period political debate is infused with this argument. It is a shameful argument, but it inheres in the logic of capitalism.
Item 2. In the late 1960s, Ford Motor Company wanted to fight off competition from small European and Japanese cars. Under the direction of Lee Iacocca, it set out to produce a car that weighed no more than 2000 pounds and cost no more... than $2000 to produce. It was to be named Pinto. As these instructions were being followed, Ford was aware that regulators were developing a new standard that they called Fuel System Integrity. The system would ensure that cars would be able to withstand collisions at 30 mph when rear-ended. This concerned the Ford engineers as, in meeting their instructions, they were intent on placing an unprotected fuel tank as close to the rear of the car as possible. In the many tests they ran before the promulgation of the proposed standard, they had found that rear-end collisions at speeds of 25 mph ruptured the Pinto fuel tank.
