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Marxist Revisionism
by Glenn Woiceshyn
Re: "How to Get Rich"--letter by Francine Dick--Oct/10/97--The Globe and
Mail
Dear Editor,
According to Francine Dick, the U.S. "created so much wealth during
the 19th century" because of "slavery and child labour."
This is anti-capitalist mythology at its worst. Slavery existed throughout
history, before capitalism wiped it out in the 19th century. Slavery was incompatible
with individual rights--a pillar of capitalism. Besides, "greedy" capitalists
realized they get much more productivity via pay-for-performance (a concept still
foreign to today's liberals) with non-slaves.
Capitalism inherited the impoverished conditions in England, which made children
choose to work in factories rather than die in poverty, as many children did prior
to the Industrial Revolution. It was the productivity of capitalism that made it
possible for parents to earn enough to keep their children at home.
How, in principle, could "slavery and child labour" be more productive
than a free market? If Ms. Dick's claim were true, the U.S. economy should have collapsed
without slavery and child labour.
According to modern philosophy, there are no objective interpretations of
history-- it's all subjective and relative. This provides a perfect rationalization
for leftists like Ms. Dick to go on believing the Marxist interpretation of history
Best Premises,
Glenn Woiceshyn
© 1997 Glenn Woiceshyn. All rights reserved.
This article can be found on-line at at http://www.capitalism.org/glennw. |
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