NADER, RALPH 1934-

CONSUMER ADVOCATE, LAWYER

The Consumers' Watchdog

Progressive magazine once hailed him as "Citizen of the Republic" because of his crusading efforts to protect the public; others, less sympathetic to his causes, have referred to him as the nation's nag. But whether regarded as a hero or a villain, Ralph Nader has been the country's leading consumer advocate since the mid 1960s. Yet, in an ironic twist, this defender of consumer rights is in many ways a nonconsumer. He does not own a car, lives in an inexpensive rooming house, avoids all junk food, and dresses plainly. In fact, as of 1983, he was still wearing the same pair of shoes he purchased in 1959.

Unsafe at Any Speed

Nader graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton and then attended Harvard Law School, where he became interested in automobile safety. After practicing law in Connecticut for several years, he headed to Washington, D.C., became a consultant to the Department of Labor, and returned to his research on auto safety. In 1965 he published his findings in his book Unsafe at Any Speed. The study attacked General Motors for selling a car, the Chevrolet Corvair, that had known safety defects. The book became an immediate best-seller, and General Motors, in a move to discredit the author, hired a detective to investigate Nader's politics, religion, and sex life. When news of the investigation leaked out, the chairman of GM was forced to apologize to Nader and ultimately paid him $425,000 to drop the invasion-of-privacy suit. With this money Nader created several consumer-interest groups, including the Center for the Study of Responsive Law. Collectively these organizations included many young, idealistic staff members who became known as "Nader's Raiders."

Protective Legislation

With the support of his raiders who were sent to investigate a wide variety of industries and products, Nader campaigned for consumer protection laws in the 1960s and 1970s. He played an essential role in obtaining the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966—which established a federal agency to set auto safety standards—the Consumer Products Safety Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. He also successfully lobbied for job protection for whistle-blowers and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Persistence

In 1972, after a flurry of legislative victories, Nader ranked seventh in a Gallup poll of most-admired people, immediately ahead of the pope and comedian Bob Hope. By the late 1970s and into the early 1980s, however, Nader's influence declined; Congress defeated, for example, his proposed Consumer Protection Agency in 1978. Yet Nader's commitment to improving people's lives never wavered, and by the end of the 1980s it was clear he remained a real political power. He was part of the California initiative effort that reduced the skyrocketing cost of auto insurance rates, and his continued pursuit of safer automobiles led major manufacturers to install air bags in most of their cars.