HAROLD Rushen (letters, 22 April) claims that socialism is bad because “man is a competitive animal in a highly competitive world”.
Perhaps he should reflect that all animals (except perhaps our farm animals and pampered pets) live in a highly competitive world.
What makes us humans different is that we have learned to prosper by co-operating with each other.
What he advocates is prosperity through greed; while greed is a powerful driving force I think that as a species we can do better than that by building a system that rewards effort and talent, while giving everybody a chance to earn a reasonable living.
The effect of uncontrolled capitalism is well known from early Victorian times when young children worked 18 hours a day in coal mines or cotton mills, in daily danger of dismemberment, suffocation, or burial alive.
I sincerely hope that Mr. Rushen does not advocate a return to such standards, in which case the only debate to be had is the extent to which society should apply controls to ensure that the fortunes of the few are not built on the misery of the many.
Howard March, Tudor Crescent, Swindon
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