I read with sheer amazement Steve Chapman’s article in the Sunday Tribune about capitalism being the true ally of American workers.
Attributing improved working conditions today to capitalism is myopic and seriously lacking in historical perspective. Capitalism in its purest form, motivated primarily by greed and avarice, is brutal and ruthless.
A good example of this is Chapman’s reference to the life of 19th Century coal miners being “tortuously unpleasant . . . and `little better than semi-slavery.'”
Now that was capitalism in its purest form.
Implying that capitalists improved the lives of American workers is ludicrous and simply untrue.
People committed to social justice, government itself and unions all worked to improve working conditions for American workers.
Capitalists didn’t introduce Social Security, pensions, a five-day workweek, a minimum wage or retirement plans.
What makes capitalism workable and effective today is the fact that it is tempered by a concern for the security and working conditions of American workers, thanks to the social reformers noted above.
It is true that American workers enjoy a better life today, but to imply that capitalism be credited with this does a great disservice to the people who really made this happen, and to American history itself.
