dimensional poppycock
The article “Capitalists and other psychopaths” (May 15) is what I consider one-dimensional. That the rich are “more likely” to lie, cheat and break the law is poppycock; their lawyers have the low-down regarding those wonderful “loopholes” that the average person cannot tap into. Capitalism is predicated on bad behavior? Capitalism stands for another religion: the goodness of commerce. And most companies are owned by (middle-class) stockholders who in a nano-second will move their money (retirement funds) to another company because “share”-holders are devoted to one interest: profit.
The treatise “The Fable of the Bees” by Bernard Mandeville is an ancient story rehashed. The beehive was synonymous with the saying: Nothing without labor. And not for nothing that Utah proclaimed itself “The Beehive State”.
As to the article “Double standard on human rights” (May 17) regarding the Palestinians versus the Israelis, this is discussed in a book by Peter Beinart. In the New York Review of Books, David Shulman reviews “The Crisis of Zionism.” The brutal treatment of Palestinians since 1948 is discussed; basic democratic values were undermined by totalitarian tendencies.The review is deeply disturbing on how Arab Palestinians are treated by “ruthless settlers” who take the land by force: starting colonial projects. The author of the book recommends a boycott by American Jews of products coming from Israeli settlements in the territories. A shiver ran down my spine reading the apocalyptic ending of the review: To prolong the occupation is to ensure the emergence of a single polity west of the Jordan; every passing day makes a South African trajectory (Jimmy Carter and his finger-pointing!) more likely.
Olga Pitcairn
Pennsylvania, US
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