All in all, Sinclair failed at promoting Socialism with his novel
. He instead drew too much attention to the meat industry and didn't establish enough credibility in his solution. People were simply unwilling to accept the need for a remodeling of the American system, and instead tried to put patches on what they could, clogging holes where they could see them. They ended with a patchwork government, too focused on fixing the myriad of problems intrinsic to the system rather they trying to work towards the most intelligent solution. Sinclair suffered the fate of man teenagers, woefully misunderstood. His novel became an expose of the meat industry more than anything else, and is still regarded as such. Unsuccessful but provocative, if Sinclair's novel had promoted as much interest in government as it had in beef, we might find ourselves with each giving according to his ability, and each receiving according to his needs.