“Thread of Hope” Is Food for Thought

“A Thread of Hope” [Winter 2012] aroused my interest in many ways. Its referencing of “a living wage” recalled Monsignor John Ryan’s classic A Living Wage (1906), in which he argued that a Christian society claiming to support “family values” should accept that only living wages can underpin them.

Then there is Adam Smith’s generally ignored critique of the unbridled capitalism he supposedly endorsed in The Wealth of Nations. As a moral philosopher, Smith abhorred the impoverishment of labor through the selfishness of those who only served themselves and cared nothing for others.

Finally, the story of Alta Gracia Apparel shows how the Wisconsin Idea is being productively implemented in the way it was intended, enriching the lives of others.

Charles Wetzel PhD’63 Chester, New Jersey

Published in the Spring 2013 issue