Letters
Editors: In his interesting article ("Egalitarian Strategies," Summer 1999), John E. Roemer justifies equalizing profits in the following terms: "The fact is that, today, in advanced...
...But the fact is that we do not know the future and that the ability for a firm or an industry or a society to adapt to unforeseen and unforeseeable circumstances depends upon inventive individuals who bypass habitual ways of doing things and create new products and procedures...
...George Scialabba Replies: I'm sorry that Ken Brociner was annoyed by Jacoby's sarDISSENT / Winter 2000 n 125 LETTERS casm and my enjoyment thereof...
...The poor are not lazy...
...Instead, I was left incredulous by Jacoby's consistently arrogant and condescending tone...
...There is nothing wrong with trying to reform such a system in order to motivate people to live in ways that they can respect and to contribute as much as they can to the general welfare...
...I'd only remind him that you can't have a "lively internal dialogue" without occasionally— pretty often, in fact—getting somebody or other's goat...
...The critics of the welfare state have pointed out that the method of distributing benefits frequently created incentives to remain on welfare, and that the moral atmosphere encouraged some people to apply for welfare who otherwise could work...
...I26 n DISSENT / Winter 2000...
...Other reasons—especially the difficulty some women face in rural areas and small cities in finding abortion services—are not...
...CAROLE JOFFE Berkeley, Calif...
...Yet, on the other hand, he seemed to revel in Jacoby's mean-spirited "broadside against contemporary intellectuals, particularly those on the left...
...To Letter Writers • We welcome succinct letters from our readers...
...Bill Gates, after all, is not ancient history, and any society that hopes to survive and progress needs to encourage the emergence of entrepreneurial types, even if that means a certain level of inequality in its reward structure...
...CHARLES LANDESMAN New York, N.Y...
...Unlike Scialabba, I did not find any of Jacoby's "unfair digs" at other leftist intellectuals to be "amusing...
...In addition to savaging innumerable individuals, Jacoby continually overgeneralizes to the point of absurdity—railing against "the left" or "leftist intellectuals," and in doing so crudely sets up straw figures to demolish...
...But because we have a long "lead time" for each issue, you have to send us your letter within three weeks after getting an issue of Dissent in order to get it into the next issue...
...On page after page, he mocks a wide range of intellectuals on the left, frequently distorting their views beyond recognition...
...We reserve the right to edit letters down to fit our space and to choose which shall be printed...
...Egalitarianism does not justify expanding the welfare state in ways that harm the very people it is intended to help...
...What so puzzled me about Scialabba's review was that, on the one hand, he wrote (quite eloquently), "Utopia is impossible unless, among an overwhelming majority, solidarity and trust are nearly instinctive...
...There is no ethical reason for opposing those inequalities from which everyone benefits, particularly the workers and the poor...
...Editors: In his interesting article ("Egalitarian Strategies," Summer 1999), John E. Roemer justifies equalizing profits in the following terms: "The fact is that, today, in advanced societies, most research and development is carried out by salaried workers in large firms, and so it is questionable how much individual entrepreneurial activity is needed for innovation...
...But it is certainly not obvious that such entrepreneurs are necessary today...
...Ken Brociner Somerville, Mass...
...Letters will not be returned to senders unless they are accompanied by stamped, selfaddressed envelopes...
...Abortion Decline Editors: It is strange that in Margaret O'Brien Steinfels's lament about the Clinton administration and abortion ("Democrats and Catholics," Fall 1999), and specifically the betrayal she felt about Clinton's alleged failure to follow through with his commitment to making abortions "safe, legal, and rare," she neglects to mention that abortions have become rarer...
...Some reasons for the decline— increased condom use in response to the AIDS crisis, use of new long-acting hormonal methods for birth control, a reduction in teenage sexual activity—are consistent with policies that have been supported by the Clinton admin istration (and opposed by many who also oppose abortion...
...But I think he misses the point...
...Those who oppose the expansion of the welfare state, he says, distinguish between the deserving poor, who are poor "by virtue of bad luck," and the undeserving poor, who are just "lazy...
...He also addresses the question of the welfare state with regard to the "undeserving" poor...
...After an extended period in which the number of abortions in the United States stood at about 1.5 million per year, recently the number of abortions has noticeably declined to somewhere between 1.2 and 1.3 million per year...
...they were victims of a system that discouraged some of them from finishing their education and becoming productive workers...
...Of course there are individuals like Bill Gates, who invent software in their garage that eventually transforms an entire industry...
...But, unless we can address each other with respect and civility, we will never succeed in building the kind of political movement that will be necessary to transform society...
...Civil Society Editors: George Scialabba's review of Russell Jacoby's The End of Utopia (Dissent, Summer 1999) left me both disturbed and puzzled...
...I remember attending a Socialist Scholars Conference in the late 1960s in which certain speakers advocated encouraging the poor to take advantage of the welfare system, that they had a moral right to the benefits...
...There is no question that the left needs to carry on a lively internal dialogue to come up with solutions to the many ideological, strategic, and tactical issues with which we are faced...
...and democratic habits of self-confidence and tact are far better developed...
...We are unable to acknowledge letters...
...Letters must be no more than 500 words, typed, double-spaced, and carry the full address and name of the sender...
Vol. 47 • January 2000 • No. 1
