Adei, 2018 [updated, 2021]

LEADERSHIP III

Cohorts A & B

Lecturer: Prof. Adei

January 17, 2018

“The Challenge of Facts” by William G. Sumner – An Illustrative Summary

Who the Author is

William Graham Sumner is an American academician and social thinker who was born

on October 30, 1840 (American Sociological Association, 2004). Though he grew up in a home

with a father who was not formally educated, Sumner went on to obtain a university degree

from Yale University in 1863. He continued on to study in Germany, Switzerland and England

(American Sociological Association, 2004).

As a Greek scholar, clergyman, and social and political scientist, Sumner is a strong

advocate of laissez-faire economics, free trade and free markets, as the gold standard and is

against socialism and communism (American Sociological Association, 2004). He personifies

the classical liberal philosophy called the “Libertarian Philosophy.” He also identifies as an

economic Darwinian and believes in the “survival of the fittest” theory.

Sumner was a spokesman against imperialism and often favored what he referred to as

the “forgotten man” of the middle-class. He taught social science at Yale University, where he

was appointed Professor of Political and Social Sciences in 1872. He is widely recognized as

America’s first professor of sociology (American Sociological Association, 2004). He wrote

extensively on American history, politics, sociology, and anthropology. He had a long-term

influence on “conservatism” in America. Sumner passed away on April 12, 1910 in New

Jersey, U.S.A., after suffering a stroke, three years earlier (American Sociological Association,

2004).

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The Main Message of the Author

In “The Challenge of Facts”, which was published in 1882, Sumner’s main message is

that inequality is a fact of life, and that not everyone can compete successfully in a world of

scarcity. According to Sumner, although nature produces our needs, we must work to put what

nature gives us to use to satisfy our necessities. Thus, human beings must engage in a struggle

with nature to improve their lives. However, in the absence of tools or capital, only a miserable

existence is assured. Hence, in this struggle, there is a survival of the fittest.

Sumner argues that capital multiplies the power to produce, meaning that in a free

society, inequality is inevitable. He adds that being rich is not wicked because those who pay

the price by deferring their enjoyment and investing their efforts in acquiring capital become

richer. They in turn lift their entire society from poverty. In addition, Sumner believes that the

secret to alleviating poverty lies not in socialist redistribution, which cultivates and pretends to

cure distress and poverty (these he refers to as “sentimental philosophies”), but in production

(Sumner, 1882, p. 5).

According to Sumner, abolishing inequality or restricting competition in favor of

equality and redistribution results in large populations that sink into poverty and misery. These

encourage laziness and ensure that no one will work any longer. However, those who compete

for the acquisition of material goods by industry, energy, skill, frugality, prudence and

temperance are to be encouraged. This will ensure that people will continue to work to achieve

greater wealth and well-being.

The state must, therefore, focus on protecting liberties by allowing people to enjoy the

results of their efforts, savings, investments and property, rather than through redistribution.

Hence, the state should place less emphasis on protection through elaborate social reforms, but

should be more concerned with protecting life, contracts, and property, which he describes as

civil liberties (Sumner, 1882, p. 4).

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In his view, although American society has achieved great strides in terms of universal

suffrage, popular education, free trade, and other innovations such as the abolishing of slave

trade, that there is the need for institutions to guard civil liberties against popular majorities

that demand re-distribution.

Contribution toward the “Good Society” Debate

The four coordinates of a good society are liberty, community, equality and efficiency.

Of these, Sumner emphasizes greatly on the importance of liberty and efficiency and does not

favor equality and community. He emphasizes that competition, productivity and liberty to

enjoy the products of a person’s labor are the key elements of national and individual

advancement. Thus, inequality will remain inevitable because of the harsh reality of nature and

the different capacities and capabilities of people, which will ensure that some people will be

rich while others will be poor.

Attempts at socialist redistribution and egalitarianism are costly and unjust to those who

put in immense effort and work hard to be rich. These infringe on the civil liberties of these

people to dispose of their wealth as they wish. According to Sumner, modern democracies tend

to be egalitarian and fail to protect the civil liberties of the productive rich in such countries.

He argues that it is crucial to understand that being rich is not wicked and goes on to blame the

poor and unemployed as being responsible for the current state of poverty and misery.

A Critique of the Works

Sumner successfully highlights the negative aspects of socialist redistribution and the

role they play in modern democracies by using state power to promote equality, labor, and

redistribution, at the expense of entrepreneurship and industry, which produces great rewards.

Thus, such social reforms rob entrepreneurs and industries of the fruits of their productive labor

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in the name of protecting natural and human rights, which place unnecessary demands on

others.

In addition, Sumner emphasizes the need for the promotion of hard work, frugality,

savings, and investments in boosting the growth of emerging economies worldwide. Hard work

ensures productivity, which leads to growth and development and helps to reduce poverty

significantly in the long-term. Thus, it is essential for countries to encourage the need for hard

work at all levels of the economy.

Finally, Sumner’s belief that being rich is not wicked is a valid argument as it explains

how the productive rich can successfully lift the society in which they live to achieve greater

economic development and growth for the society. For example, the inventor of the machine

has done society good because not only has this helped to make work easier and more efficient

but has also made production faster to enable us to produce more goods with fewer resources

to earn greater income.

Despite his meaningful arguments, Sumner undervalues those who are poor and

unemployed and fails to capture other reasons that can accurately explain their circumstances.

He simply blames them for their predicament but does not make room for understanding certain

impediments that many people face in society. Similarly, Sumner limits his understanding of

liberty to enjoying the produce of one’s labor and accumulating capital through hard work,

savings and investments, but fails to acknowledge the reality of corruption and exploitation in

the world. These are factors that also contribute to the huge inequality gap that exists across

societies as corruption, nepotism, tribalism, and the abuse of power, for example, greatly affect

capital accumulation in many countries. However, these are completely ignored in Sumner’s

work.

Finally, though Sumner acknowledges progress in promoting education and social

development by governments of countries, he does not seem to encourage them. These also

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help to contribute immensely to a country’s growth and development and must be considered

but are not captured enough in Sumner’s work. In short, it is important to remember that the

“Good” Society cannot be built on unbridled competition and efficiency alone.

Implications for Contemporary Leaders

• There is the need to create a conducive environment that encourages and promotes

hard work, savings, and investment. Labor laws should not unduly favor workers

against entrepreneurs because if it takes entrepreneurs, innovators and industrialists to

build society and not redistributive socialist reforms, then the laws of the land must

protect the entrepreneurs, industrialists and innovators. This is true liberty or freedom.

• Though we may agree that being rich is not wicked, we must work to condemn and

punish the corrupt thieves who do not work hard to contribute to the society’s growth

but are quick to steal from the hard work of others.

• Equality should not be pursued at the expense of productivity and efficiency, and to

prevent constraining a society’s progress, governments must encourage the productive

elements of their societies.

How it informs the Group’s Leadership Thinking and Development

• It is essential for everyone to adopt a lifestyle that enables them to succeed. This will

mean practicing self-discipline, hard work, and savings and investment.

• There is the need for a balance in understanding the Good Society debate as focusing

on one element alone results in consequences that can be prevented with a balance.

Therefore, unlike Sumner’s work has done, we believe that leaders should aim to strike

a balance in all the four coordinates to ensure the achievement of a Good Society.

• The downsides of society such as corruption and abuse of power must be addressed to

enable us to work toward achieving a Good Society without any hindrances.

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Bibliography

American Sociological Association (2004). William G. Sumner – A Biography.

http://asanet.org/about-asa/asa-story/asa-history/past-asa-officers/past-asa

presidents/william-g-sumner

Sumner, W. G. (1882). The Challenge of Facts and Other Essays. New Haven: Yale University

Press.

Team Text Review and Presentation

The group will be expected to prepare a summary/critical review of the work of between 5
and 10 pages and post it on Can 4 vaspm on the Thursday preceding their presentation. This
will be to the benefit of the students in the class in preparing their weekly individual critical
appraisals. The summary and class presentation are expected to reflect:
o Who the author is
o The main message of the author
o Its contribution towards the “good society” debate
o A critique of the works
o Implications for contemporary leaders
o How it informs group members’ leadership thinking and development

PowerPoint presentations should not be more than 15 slides. Each group will present for 30
minutes. After each presentation, the PowerPoint slides must also be posted on Courseware
within 24 hours.

Individual Critical Appraisals

For groups that are not presenting, each person will submit present a critique of the posted
summary of the group presenting for the week considering the summary they read and
O’Toole. The critique should be up to a page. After the group presentation for the week, up
to 5 students will be called upon randomly to share their critical reviews with the class.