Capitalism is not equal

To the Editor:

Congratulations to Mr. Bookstaber for having been "lucky or dirty enough" to have been born into privilege. His thoughtless critique of "Bleeding Heart Rich Kids" (BLEHRKs), UniversityHealth Services (UHS), and unions ["Yale: your degree in capitalism," YH, 4/16/99] was both ill-conceived and ill-informed.

Whatever the numerous critiques of capitalism include, one thing nearly everyone agrees on is that not everyone has equal access to the resources capitalism offers. If contemporary manifestations of capitalism were simply "a free system of incentives" as Bookstaber states, then no one would complain. People do complain because these incentives are neither free nor available to all. Don't believe me? Look around. Who do you see at this school? Centuries of racism and classism fundamentally tied to capitalism's drive for profit at the expense of humanity have severely skewed the distribution of capital, and thus access to the higher education and its rewards that we all enjoy.

Bookstaber criticizes Locals 34 and 35 for "disrupting capitalism," but he fails to realize that unions provide the opportunity for their workers to compete in the economy. Without access to higher education that in turn opens the doors to lucrative careers, there are very few ways to be a successful competitor. Unions provide a framework in which individuals can manage their own labor and demand a fair reward for their work. Unions do not necessarily disrupt capitalism—in fact, they ideally force the system to be true to its definition: equal access to success for those who work for it.

The alternative Bookstaber offers to dining hall unions is commercial eating establishments. If Yale were to contract with national chains, not only would local New Haven workers lose their jobs, New Haven would also lose the spending power of those workers. Bookstaber's so-called "beautiful circle of capitalism" would be stilted even further in this city. Once the commercial eating establishments came in, I could see him writing another opinion piece complaining about the increased number of homeless people asking for your money.

Bookstaber is right that we privileged students at Yale rely on the open market, and that it may be because of our parent's success in that market that "BLEHRKs have the time to complain in the first place." However, as someone he would probably stereotype as a BLEHRK, I prefer to use my position of privilege to effect change toward equality and justice, rather than take my privilege for granted while vilifying others less "lucky or dirty" than I.

I don't claim to know the truth, but I know that I cannot accept the grossly unfair distribution of resources in our country and beyond—a distribution that is exacerbated by the effects of global capitalism.

—Hannah Appel, SM '00

Back to Opinion...