Capitalism and Workplace Safety

This year's Pulitzer Prize in Public Service went to a pair of journalists who wrote about Evil Businesses™ who exploit their workers by not providing for their safety.

Last year, Dr. George Reisman responded to the Pulitzer-winning articles by writing about the actual connection between capitalism and workplace safety.

In richly ironic fashion, a recent AIDS scare in the adult film industry provides a unintentional underscoring of Reisman's points. An industry widely attacked for "exploiting" its workers and treating them with little or no regard is voluntarily stopping production en masse:

At least 45 actors and actresses were under a voluntary work quarantine and about a dozen companies were adhering to a voluntary two-month moratorium until new HIV tests are completed, industry experts said.

The number of producers halting production is impressive (probably not safe for work).

Funny, OSHA doesn't seem to be involved. It's as if the producers and the workers have been able to evaluate the risks and reach an acceptable arrangement all by themselves.