A lot of conservatives take issue with the talking point that is "capitalism is the root of all evil". But I think the story of "Soft Drinks" or Sodas, (Specifically the story of Coca-Cola & Pepsi), perfectly illustrate WHY that phrase has become so prevalent in modern discourse.
Coca-Cola was originally invented by John Stith Pemberton. Pemberton was a Confederate State Army veteran that began experimenting with different painkillers and toxins in order to curb his morphine addiction that began after sustaining an injury while in the army.
During this period he came across a French tonic called Vin Mariani. Essentially, Vin Mariani was a "medicine" that was sold as an energizing remedy. It was originally made in 1863 and had 6mg of cocaine per fluid ounce of wine. This was later changed to 7.2mg per ounce in order to compete with similar drinks in the American market. (I could not for the life of me find the actual source for dosage but here is the wikipedia article stating the fact)
Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Edison, and even Queen Victoria were among the millions who indulged in the tonic beverage. Even the chief rabbi of France is quoted to have said, 'Praise be to Mariani’s wine!' - onthewineroad
![[ad-french-coca-wine-001.webp]] Ad for Vin Mariani boasting its "Vital Forces"
Taking inspiration from the drink, Pemberton created his own tonic in 1886 with basically the same ingredients plus kola nut for the caffeine. He proceeded to sell his this syrup, which he called "Pemberton's French Wine Coca", to local soda fountains (usually found in drug stores back in the 1800s).
The following part of history is a bit jumbled up and blurry, but basically, in the late 1800s as the prohibition was hitting the US, Pemberton got rid of the wine in his recipe and substituted it for non-alcoholic syrup. This was also what brought the name change to reflect what it is now; Coca-Cola. (Cola for the kola nuts and Coca for... you guessed it... cocaine!). This was also around the time when another pharmacist, Asa Griggs Candler bought the business from Pemberton.
![[pembertons-french-wine-coca-002.jpeg]] Ad for Pemberton's French Wine Coca
This is where the history of the company starts taking a darker turn.
Coca-Cola used to only be available through soda fountains in places that only white upper class Americans had access to. This gave the drink a "classy" status and it was heavily marketed towards maintaining that image.
This all changed when in 1894, Coca-Cola sold their first ever bottle. Bottled coke allowed the drink to become more accessible; and communities, that previously never had access to the drink were suddenly buying the drink in droves. It also didn't help that around this time period, cocaine was becoming more prevalent in black communities, as it helped laborers get through long days of physical work.
This caused a panic in the upper white societies at that time and news articles as well as medical journals began circulating, warning whites of the “Negro cocaine menace.”
Newspapers claimed that the drug caused Black men to commit crimes—most notably, raping white women. -JSTOR
![[coke-ad-004.jpg]] Bottled Coca-Cola Ad from 1949
![[bottles-003.webp]] Evolution of the Coke Bottle; Eventually Settling on the "Skirt" Design