To the Editor:
I was dismayed to find Abiola Lapite '98 spewing the same economist claptrap ("Those Evil Capitalists!" The Dartmouth, March 29, 1996) I would expect from George Will or William Safire. Lapite is well on his way to joining the ranks of the dismal scientists.
The opportunity to do business is a privilege granted by society. As such, business is obligated to act in a socially responsible way, which entails more than just maximizing shareholder profits.
Any introductory textbook will tell you that economics was invented to make life better for people. Now it appears economics has made the transition from means to end as economists justify sacrificing people on the altar of economic efficiency.
Lapite may well find his opinion changing when he joins the working masses; I wonder how "freely associated" he will feel to his employer when he has a family to feed and mortgage payments to make. Unfortunately, I suspect he plans on avoiding such an unpleasant situation by becoming one of Those Evil Capitalists himself.
Let's concede that our economy is efficient enough (what heresy!) and keep people working.
