Did Nineteenth-CenturyCapitalistsWantthe Poorto Die? 15consumerdemand,he is well-adaptedto a free-markethabitat.In lieu of concedingthis
truth,progressivejournalistSusanJacobysimplyquotesfromthis sameSumnerpassage
as she sneers,“In his repeatedargumentsagainsttaxingthe rich—‘no mancan acquirea
millionwithouthelpinga millionmento increasetheirlittlefortune’—Sumneradvocated
whatwouldnowbe calledtrickle-downeconomics.” (emphasisadded)^58 Observesome-
thing.In the passagethat SusanJacobyquoted—the verysameone that I placedin a block
quotation—Sumnerwas not talkingabouttaxeson the rich.
Sadly,thereis no ceasefireby intellectualdetractorswhotakeSumnerout of context.
Evolutionary-psychologypromoterDavidBerrebyverballyflaysSumnerfor establishing
himselfas “one of his country’s nastiestsocialDarwinists” withhis “rabidlaissez-faire
writings.” BerrebydetestsSumner’s “sermonlikeessaysandbooks” that“declaredthat
nothingshouldbe doneto interferewiththoseat the top of society(the‘captainsof
industry’), nor shouldanyonewastetimeon its losers.‘A drunkardin the gutter,’ he
wrote,‘is justwherehe oughtto be, accordingto the fitnessandtendencyof things.
Naturehas set up on himthe processof declineanddissolutionby whichshe removes
thingswhichhavesurvivedtheirusefulness.’”^59 Thatpassageof Sumner’s arrivesvia his
bookWhatSocialClassesOweto EachOther. Berrebyquotesit to conveythatSumner
wantedhomelesswinosto hurryup andexpire.Thatway,the allegationgoes,their
bodieswouldceaseto wasteso muchspace.Actually,Sumneris contendingthatthere
shouldbe no lawsproscribingconsentingadultsfromimbibingalcoholor otherdrugs.
Sumnerwantslegalityfor almostanyconsensualactivitythatthe generalpublicmay
judgeto be detrimentalto the healthof the participants.In Sumner’s estimate,a consent-
ing adultshouldhavethe Lockeanpoliticalprerogativeof runninghis life as he chooses,
absentof busybodiesoverrulinghis choices.Sumnerfurtherintimatesthatif the govern-
mentpolicesan alcoholic’s vices,the governmentwill haveto extortmoneyfromhonest,
responsibletaxpayingadultsto savethe would-beaddict,ostensibly,fromhimself.Sum-
ner ascertainsthatthis unfairlypenalizesthe honest,responsibletaxpayerwhotakesthe
precautionto limithis ownliquorintake.
The Yalesociologistcallsthis taxpayer“the ForgottenMan.” Wheneverthe populace
clamorsfor the governmentto spendmoneyon performingsomefunctionbeyondthe
stricturesof the nightwatchmanstate,it forgetsaboutthis honesttaxpayer.Peopleforget
the taxpayerwhois put underduressin orderto pay for the governmentaction.Finally,
Sumnerrecommendsthat if you wantto savesomeonefromhis ownaddiction,thereis a
muchbettermethodthansimplythreateninghimwithlegalimprisonmentor mandatory
therapy.Thatwouldbe allowinghimto facefullythe direrepercussionsof his own
choices.Let a junkiehit rockbottom.At thatjuncture,it is incumbentuponthe junkieto
contemplatea crucialchoice.He can continuedownthis miserableroad.Alternatively,he
mightpullhimselftogetherand try to betterhis owncircumstances.In the end no one can
implementthis decisionfor the addictbut the addicthimself.Withthatin mind,we can
readSumner’s wordsin context.Whenwe cometo the passagethatBerrebyquotes,it
shallbe in italics.Sumneropposesanygovernmentregulationthatwouldprotectan
individualfromhis ownunhealthy-but-peaceablechoices.Sucha regulationblocksa man
fromfacingthe logicallyinevitable
penaltyof his vice... .A drunkardin the gutteris just wherehe oughtto be, accordingto the
fitnessand tendencyof things.Naturehas set up on him the processof declineand dissolutionby
whichshe removesthingswhichhavesurvivedtheirusefulness....
Now,we nevercan annihilatea penalty.We can onlydivertit fromthe headof the man
whohas incurredit to the headsof otherswhohavenot incurredit. A vastamountof
“socialreform” consistsin just this operation.Theconsequenceis thatthosewhohave
goneastray,beingrelievedfromNature’s fiercediscipline,go on to worse,and that there
is a constantlyheavierburdenfor the othersto bear.... Theindustriousandsober