Read Sumner's classic text on the social aspect of economics
In today’s economic and political upheaval, the common man is often forgotten. He is forced to carry on his back the cost of every ill-conceived social program and the well-intended, but morally offensive, dictates of a bankrupt government. The situation was no different in 1883 when the author penned this brief essay.
The Forgotten Man examines the system which demands that the hardworking man and woman support the lifestyles of those who will not provide for themselves. The Forgotten Man “is the simple, honest laborer, ready to earn his living by productive work.” Instead, he is often at the mercy of the machinations of government leaders who are all too eager to force the Forgotten Man into economic servitude for the benefit of those who refuse honest gain for honest work.
William Graham Sumner was sometime Professor of Political and Social Science at Yale University. He advocated free markets and liberty with restraint. While some of his views about the social development of mankind are less than agreeable, the ideas expressed in this essay are worth reflection in light of the state of modern society.