Emerson points out the men that deliver the goods

Emerson points out the men that deliver the goods that we so desperately depend on,” have
intercepted the sugar of the sugar, and the cotton of the cotton. They have got the education, I
only the commodity”(Emerson). To allow someone else to provide for you is to stunt your own
development. By purchasing a finished product you have learned nothing, you have
accomplished nothing, you have contributed nothing.

The ability of an individual to carve out a living completely of his own design and
construction leads Emerson to distrust wealth, especially inherited wealth. As he points out, “if
the accumulated wealth of the past generations is thus tainted, — no matter how much of it is
offered to us, — we must begin to consider if it were not the nobler part to renounce
it...”(Emerson). The acceptance of inheritance is the denial of individualism. From your birth you
are assuming the mantle of those that came before you, proclaiming for all to see that you have
been created in their image rather than creating your own. One must cast off the gilded shackles
of past wealth and be willing to forge for themselves an identity uniquely their own from nothing
but their own ability.
With these facts in mind it is unsurprising that Emerson does not look upon capitalism
favorably. To him it is the antithesis of all that humanity should strive for. In Emerson view
capitalism, “is a system of selfishness; is not dictated by the high sentiments of human nature; is
not measured by the exact law of reciprocity; much less by the sentiments of love and heroism,
but is a system of distrust, of concealment, of superior keenness, not of giving but of taking
advantage” (Emerson). It is a system that not only indulges the the most base and vile aspects of
human nature, but forces man to rely upon them to succeed. A system that encourages avarice,
greed, covetousness, pride, selfishness, ego-centrism and claims to be bettering the lives of those
that live under it is simply unacceptable to Emerson.
America, since its inception, has been beautifully imperfect. A nation built on the
foundations of freedom, allowed slavery. A nation that championed democracy, denied women
the right to vote. A nation that stands for equality, is still plagued by racism, bigotry, and
prejudice. From this you may think that I find America to be a rather disagreeable place, but to
you I say that this is what makes America so incredible. We fought a civil war and ended the
odious institution of slavery. We fought for the rights of women and now all citizens of age can
vote. We fight for equality, to this day, and everyday forward. America is imperfect but we are
trying to make it better, we are fighting for a future worth living in, if not for us than for our
children, and it is for this reason that I find Ayn Rands view of individualism inconsistent with
the spirit of America. We are reformers, to our cores, to our foundations, and nothing is more
American.