SPECIAL THANKS to my good friend, Australian new music trombonist extraordinaire, Simone de HAAN.

‘the Symphony Orchestra” 

some extinctions are sweet
see the saprophytic
symphony orchestra
where our much will have more 
is forever at war 
with the speed of sound
morbidly obese strip miner 
of the past with superb technique 
like the humble sex worker who 
mimics true love perfectly
sad swan-song of the beautiful
young conductor decomposer-in-chief 
baton hard sharp pointed erect
leading its troops straight into 
the motionless oblivion of moist muck
the happy food of hungry worms

IMAGE: An actual sign in SNAKE RIVER COUNTRY along the CANNABIS HIGHWAY, spectacular gravel mountain bike road from Richland to Huntington, OREGON

SWEET EXTINCTIONS, “The Symphony Orchestra” Simone de HAAN,solo trombone

In her book, The Industrialists: How the National Association of Manufacturers Shaped American Capitalism, Jennifer A. Delton traces the history of the National Association of Manufacturers—NAM—from its origins in 1895 to today. She argues that NAM—an organization best known for fighting unions, promoting “free enterprise,” and defending corporate interests—was also surprisingly progressive. Delton shows how it encouraged companies to adopt innovations such as safety standards, workers’ comp, and affirmative action, and worked with the US government and international organizations to promote the free exchange of goods and services across national borders. While NAM’s modernizing and globalizing activities helped to make American industry the most profitable and productive in the world by midcentury, they also eventually led to deindustrialization, plant closings, and the decline of manufacturing jobs. The Industrialists is the story of a powerful organization that fought US manufacturing’s political battles, created its economic infrastructure, and expanded its global markets—only to contribute to the widespread collapse of US manufacturing by the close of the twentieth century. 

In the interview, Delton traces the long history of NAM’s concern with globalization, as it sought to influence government policy and to assist manufacturing companies’ efforts to sell products to other nations. While careful to avoid taking formal positions on tariff’s, NAM nonetheless found itself more in line with Democratic administrations than Republican on trade issues, even as most of its members were Republican. She also emphasizes NAM’s enduring concern to limit unions, a commitment that varied in its policy implications but nonetheless was important to its its members throughout NAM’s existence. Delton closes by exploring NAM’s complex attitude towards the Donald Trump presidency, including its criticism of Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection against the US Capital in Washington, DC. 

Jennifer A. Delton is professor of history at Skidmore College. Her previous books include Rethinking the 1950s: How Anticommunism and the Cold War Made America Liberal; Racial Integration in Corporate America, 1940–1990; and Making Minnesota Liberal: Civil Rights and the Transformation of the Democratic Party.

THE INDUSTRIALISTS: HOW THE N.A.M. SHAPED U.S. CAPITALISM with Jennifer Delton

Hagley Museum and Library

Related tracks