A funny thing happened on the way to making the wealthy even wealthier: Workers’ lives improved. It wasn’t because corporate titans suddenly saw the light and decided to change their ways. It was strictly a pocketbook issue.

Businesses exist to make money. From child labor to exposing workers to harmful chemicals, nothing that helped the bottom line has ever been off the table. In the last century, lawmakers began changing the landscape—placing human lives and personal welfare over corporate profits—when public sentiment called for change.