View source for Ode to the Odious: A Poet Ridicules Laissez-Faire
From Critiques Of Libertarianism
Jump to:
navigation
,
search
<!-- you can have any number of categories here --> [[Category:Phillips Thompson]] [[Category:The Political Economist and the Tramp]] [[Category:Herbert Spencer]] [[Category:Laissez Faire]] [[Category:William Sumner]] [[Category:Social Darwinism]] [[Category:Capitalism, Markets and Laissez-Faire]] <!-- 1 URL must be followed by >= 0 Other URL and Old URL and 1 End URL.--> {{URL | url = http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5000/}} <!-- {{Other URL | url = }} --> <!-- {{Old URL | url = }} --> {{End URL}} {{DES | des = [[Phillips Thompson]]'s “The Political Economist and the Tramp" (Labor Standard (New York), 14 December 1878) ridicules [[Herbert Spencer]]'s [[Social Darwinism|Social Darwinist]] arguments for [[ Laissez Faire]]. | show=}} <!-- insert wiki page text here --> <!-- DPL has problems with categories that have a single quote in them. Use these explicit workarounds. --> <!-- otherwise, we would use {{Links}} and {{Quotes}} --> {{List|title=Ode to the Odious: A Poet Ridicules Laissez-Faire|links=true}} {{Quotations|title=Ode to the Odious: A Poet Ridicules Laissez-Faire|quotes=true}} {{Text | In the late 19th century, William Graham Sumner, an Episcopal minister turned academic sociologist, applied Darwin’s scientific ideas of evolution to the social sphere to produce his theory of the economic survival of the fittest. Sumner’s writings justified government inaction in the face of vast social dislocations caused by rapid industrialization and the periodic economic depressions that accompanied it. Critics of the new industrial order rejected the rigid “laws” propounded by Sumner and other conservative social scientists. They countered with their own laws of social development based on alternative readings of nature and science. Some labor thinkers proposed a sort of working-class social Darwinism, which challenged the ideas of conservatives. Other critics simply greeted the ideas of conservatives with derision. Phillips Thomson’s 1878 poem, “The Political Economist and the Tramp,” poked fun at the social Darwinism championed by conservatives who preferred to believe that the working class was fated to be perpetually bested by the “fitter” middle class. Walking along a country road, While yet the morning air was damp, As unreflecting, on I strode, I marked approach the frequent tramp. The haggard, ragged careworn man Accosted me with plaintive tone, “I must have food—” he straight began; “Vile miscreant,” I cried, "begone! Tis contrary to every rule That I my fellows should assist; I’m of the scientific school, Political economist. Dost thou know, deluded one, What Adam Smith has clearly proved, That 'tis self-interest alone by which the wheels of life are moved? This competition is the law By which we either live or die; I’ve no demand thy labor for, Why, then, should I thy wants supply? And Herbert Spencer’s active brain Shows how the social struggle ends; The weak die out the strong remain; 'Tis this that nature’s plan intends. Now really 'tis absurd of you To think I’d interfere at all; Just grasp the scientific view, The weakest must go to the wall." My words impressed his dormant thought; “How wise,” he said, "'tis nature’s plan; Henceforth I’ll practice what you’ve taught And be a scientific man. We are alone—no other near Or even within hailing distance; I’ve a good club now right here We’ll have struggle for existence. The weak must die, the strong survive, Let’s see who’ll prove the harder hittest; So if you wish to keep alive Prepare to prove yourself the fittest. If you decline the test to make And doubt your chances of survival, Your watch and pocketbook I’ll take, As competition strips the rival." What could I do but yield the point, Though conscious of no logic blunder; And as I quaked in every joint, The tramp departed with his plunder. Source: Phillips Thompson, “The Political Economist and the Tramp,” Labor Standard (New York), 14 December 1878. See Also:"The Rich Are Good-Natured": William Graham Sumner Defends the Wealthy What's Good for the Goose. . . : Labor and the Theory of Evolution }}
Template:DES
(
view source
)
Template:End URL
(
view source
)
Template:Extension DPL
(
view source
)
Template:List
(
view source
)
Template:Quotations
(
view source
)
Template:Red
(
view source
)
Template:Text
(
view source
)
Template:URL
(
view source
)
Return to
Ode to the Odious: A Poet Ridicules Laissez-Faire
.
Navigation menu
Views
Page
Discussion
View source
History
Personal tools
Log in
Search
Search For Page Title
in Wikipedia
with Google
Translate This Page
Google Translate
Navigation
Main Page (fast)
Main Page (long)
Blog
Original Critiques site
What's new
Current events
Recent changes
Bibliography
List of all indexes
All indexed pages
All unindexed pages
All external links
Random page
Under Construction
To Be Added
Site Information
About This Site
About The Author
How You Can Help
Support us at Patreon!
Site Features
Site Status
Credits
Notes
Help
Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Special pages
Page information
Guidelines To Create
Indexable Page/Quote
Indexable Book/Quote
Indexable Quote
Unindexed
Templates
Edit Sidebar
Purge cache this page