Book Description

"What Social Classes Owe to Each Other," written by William Graham Sumner, is a classic gem promoting the concept of limited government. Sumner talks about the "Forgotten Man" in context to the socio-political and economic of a state, defining the differences between the "weak," the "poor" and the "burden" and how humanitarians, reformers and philanthropists all seek to support the above. "What Social Classes Owe Each Other" promotes the principles of democracy and voluntary charity. With solid reasoning and logical explanation, Sumner profoundly defeats the Marxist idea of forced redistribution of wealth. Sumner's rhetoric is fertile ground for effective debate, as it rarely uses economic theory or supply/demand curves (which weren't around when he wrote). Every politician should be required to read this book before taking office. Indeed, the philosophy of Sumner, who was a professor at Yale, has surfaced in the rhetoric of many a politician. Sumner's caustic pen and penetrating analysis make "What Social Classes Owe to Each Other" a truly excellent book. No other work so clearly destroys the foundations of socialism in so few pages.