William Graham Sumner, 1840-1910

Economist american si darwinist social. Sumner crede ca in societatile umane indivizii se intrec intre ei; cei care castiga si ating pozitii dominante, au fost selectionati in aceasta lupta pentru a fi cei mai eficienti, si aceasta se traduce intr-o crestere a eficientei globale a societatii.

Acestea au fost cuvintele sale:

"Diferentele de clasa rezulta doar din diferitele grade de succes prin care oamenii profita de oportunitatile care li se ofera. In loc de a se forta pentru a redistribui cumparaturile facute intre clasele existente, obiectivul nostru trebuie sa fie cresterea, extinderea si multiplicarea oportunitatilor (Subliniat in original) (...) Aceasta expansiune nu este o garantie a egalitatii. Din contra, daca exista libertate, unii profita de oportunitati cu entuziasm iar altii nu disfruta de ele. Astfel, cu cat mai mari sunt oportunitatile cu atat mai inegala va fi averea acestor doua clase de oameni. Astfel trebuie sa fie cu justitia si ratiunea. (...) Daca marim oportunitatile asiguram cresterea generala si constanta a civilizatiei si progresul societatii prin intermediul celor mai buni membri ai sai. (Sumner, What Social Classes Owe to Each Other?) Caldwell, Ohio: Caxton 1883, 1952).

Lucrari

"The Causes of the Farmer's Discontent," 1873, Nation 
History of American Currency: with chapters on the English bank restriction and Austrian paper money : to which is appended "The bullion report", 1874 
"Monetary Development", 1875, Harper's 
"Politics in America, 1776 - 1876", 1876, NAR 
Lectures on the History of Protection in the United States, 1877 
"What Our Boys are Reading", 1878, Scribner's 
"The National Bank Circulation", 1878, Scribner's 
"Professor Walker on Bi-Metallism,", 1878, Nation 
"Socialism", 1878, Scribner's 
"The Commercial Crisis of 1837", 1879 Scribner's 
"Bimetallism", 1879, Princeton Review 
"The Theory and Practice of Elections", 1880, Princeton Review 
"The Argument Against Protective Tariffs", 1881, Princeton Review 
"Shall Americans Own Ships?", 1881, 
"Sociology", 1881, Princeton Review 
"Wages", 1882, Princeton Review 
Andrew Jackson as a Public Man, 1882 
"Protective Taxes and Wages", 1883, NAR 
"The Absurd Effort to Make the World Over", 1883 (extracts) 
What Social Classes Owe to Each Other, 1883. (extract) 
"The Survival of the Fittest", 1884, Index 
"Sociological Fallacies", 1884, NAR 
"Evils of the Tariff System", with D.A. Wells, T.G. Shearman, J.B. Sargent, 1884, NAR 
"Shall Silver be Demonetizied?", 1885, NAR 
Collected Essays in Political and Social Science, 1885 
"Mr. Blaine on the Tariff", 1886, NAR 
"State Interference", 1887, NAR 
Protectionism: the -ism which teaches that waste makes wealth, 1887. 
Alexander Hamilton, 1890 
The Financier & the finances of the American Revolution, 1891 
A History of Banking in all the leading nations, 1896 
"On Empire and the Philippines", 1898 (extract) 
"The Conquest of the United States by Spain", 1899, Yale Law Journal (copy) 
Folkways: a study of the sociological importance of usages, manners, customs, mores, and morals, 1906 
War and Other Essays, 1911 
Earth-hunger and other essays, 1913 
The Challenge of Facts and Other Essays, 1914 (extract, extract) 
"The Forgotten Man", 1916? 
The Forgotten Man, and Other Essays, 1917 
Science of Society, with A.G. Keller, 1927.