Analysis by Maia Black
Abstract
As capitalism has developed through modernization, political scientists such as Christopher Calvo theorize that the American economic society has also led to gross increases in poverty in the United States. Political analyst Jasun Carr expands upon the poverty epidemic when he asserts that poverty has created a disparity between class systems, which is characterized by the wealthy over-consuming resources in a period of “economic stability.” Individuals who fall within the class systems defined under capitalism cannot look beyond the potential benefits of capitalist institutions and recognize the perils that oppress marginalized populations. I argue that the all-or-nothing ideal is exacerbated in capitalist societies, such as the United States and “Hansel and Gretel” because they both are dignified by a community that prioritizes individualism over collective action; are sustained by the large divide between the wealthy and impoverished; and is characterized by overconsumption by those who have, and food insecurity among those who do not. Because the story of “Hansel and Gretel” dates back centuries before capitalism was introduced in modern societies, the understanding of capitalism’s institutionalized consumption of resources through the lens of “Hansel and Gretel” will be used to demonstrate the importance of how capitalism in struggling societies affects our social dynamics. Moreover, this paper will demonstrate that there is a lack of moderation in places where two extreme opposites are presented. Using “Hansel and Gretel” as a model for the potential ramifications of capitalist ideology will garner conversation on the potential effects of it on our real-life dynamics within the United States and how we can achieve solutions to the rising level of inequality, sustainability, and food insecurity that oppress vulnerable communities.
The themes of poverty, scarcity, wealth, and overconsumption demonstrated in “Hansel and Gretel” are identical to the principles that are exemplified in the United States under the ideology of capitalism. I argue that the all or nothing ideal is exacerbated in capitalist societies because the United States, a country that is built upon these fundamental concepts are signified by an economy that prioritizes individualism over collective action; is sustained by its large divide between the wealthy and impoverished, and is characterized by overconsumption by those who have, and food insecurity among those who do not. The understanding of capitalism’s institutionalized consumption of resources through the lens of “Hansel and Gretel” is important because it shows how capitalism in struggling societies affects our social dynamics. Additionally how nothing comes in moderation in places where two extreme opposites are presented. Using “Hansel and Gretel” as a model for the implications of capitalist ideology will garner conversation about how we can achieve solutions to the rising level of inequality, sustainability, and food insecurity that affect our marginalized communities.
Capitalism is an economic system composed of private actors that work towards their interests. The economic framework of capitalism has become institutionalized within our social constructs. Containing dualistic properties of theory and practice capitalism can be observed within even our most idealistic fairy tale stories. The Brothers Grimm’s “Hansel and Gretel” is a tale of two children who are living in extreme poverty. This story demonstrates the obstacles two children had to overcome as they endured living during a famine and were left in the woods to die. After leaving home they cross into uncharted territory filled with food. Trying to make the unfamiliar familiar, they subsequently resort to over-consuming the resources they are provided with. The story of “Hansel and Gretel” showcases the potential consequences of institutionalized capitalism on society that mirrors the real-world case example of the United States. Over the past decade, the U.S has seen a sharp increase in inequality by 11.2 percent in the past year alone(U.S Census Bureau). This epidemic is comparable to the poverty identifiable within the tale of “Hansel and Gretel.” After centuries of enduring capitalism; men, women, and children have suffered under a system that prioritizes individualistic values, unrealistic wealth, and overconsumption of scarce resources.
Individualism Over Collectivism
In a capitalist society, there is a priority of individualism over collective action, where personal goals outweigh public good. This mode of action is particularly shown in “Hansel and Gretel” through the house of the Witch. The antagonist of the story has plenty of resources at her disposal, but under the ideals of capitalism, it is not her responsibility to help those who are starving as a result of a famine. She instead uses food as a tool to lure children into her lair and use them to the benefit of her agenda of personal nourishment. In the tale she tricks the children by saying “dear children come inside… no harm will come to you.”(Brothers Grimm 301). Despite what she promised, “the old woman pretended to be so friendly…she had built the little house of bread just to lure them inside. As soon as a child was in her power she killed, cooked and ate it” (Brothers Grimm 302). The witch is characterized as an evil character that audiences disdain for the tribulation she imposes on the children that originate from her hoarding of resources and lack of allocation to her starving community. Similarly in capitalistic nations working towards one’s interest is deemed to make an economy more “efficient”(Smith 2). In The Wealth of Nations Adam Smith, a forefather of institutionalized capitalism argues “It is not from the benevolence of… The brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from the regards to their interest” (Smith 2). Being individualistic in capitalist societies, according to Smith, is a fundamental aspect of a “healthy” society. The problem centers around prospects of individualism being deemed as more alluring than collective action. While capitalism has merely endured in the United States via entrepreneurial endeavors, its determinants are most distinguishable. These repercussions theorized by Karl Marx prove that capitalism is not sustainable in the long run. In The Communist Manifesto Marx asserts that “the essential condition for the existence, and the sway of the bourgeois class, is the formation and augmentation of capital…The advance of industry, whose involuntary promoter is the bourgeoisie, replaces the isolation of the laborers, due to competition, by their revolutionary combination, due to association. The development of modern industry, therefore, cuts from under its feet the very foundation on which the bourgeoisie produces and appropriates products” (Marx 13). Dissimilar to the proposed increase of individualism by Smith, Marx staunchly believed that individualism leads to exploitation, inequality, and in the end, an unbalanced system that supports no one.
Similar to the witch, capitalism is led by personal motifs. In Smith’s assertion individualism is presented as a model framework of our economic system within the United States since there are individuals like the witch in “Hansel and Gretel” that are fortunate enough to have more than others. The witch is supported by those who have less than her but in the end, her deceitful individual aspirations led to her brutal death. As Marx notes “Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps”(Marx 1). Working as a collective unit within our workforces would bridge the gap between two contrasting class systems of the elite( bourgeois class) and working class (proletariat) within the United States.
The Wealth Gap
A large divide between the wealthy and impoverished is characterized by struggling societies. As the United States continues to evolve economically so has the growing rate of inequality. Using the lens of Hansel and Gretel in comparison to the United States, there are significantly large wealth gaps between the privileged and impoverished exhibited in both societies. In the story of “Hansel and Gretel” the children are members of the lower class population that dabble in affluence. After being abandoned they discover a world of wealth and security that they lacked at home. Audiences of “Hansel and Gretel” can familiarize themselves with the personable family that Hansel and Gretel are a part of. The children are raised by their father and stepmother. Their father is “a poor woodcutter”(Brothers Grimm 297). With humble beginnings originating in a struggle they cross through the woods are met with a stark shift of lifestyle. The Grimm Brothers describe that “as they approached the house they realized it was built of bread and had a roof made of cake as well as a transparent window made of sugar” (Brothers Grimm 301). The scarcity of bread throughout the story highlights that it is seen as a luxury item for those who are impoverished. When the story repeatedly proclaims that there is a minimal supply of bread, this allows the witches’ home to symbolize a place of prosperity, where bread is so readily available, that it is used as material for a house.
While the notion of inequality is not as substantial as a communal famine its effects on lower-class communities within the United States are monumental. In Poverty: A New Perspective, George Wilber states that both an adaptation and a reaction of the poor to their marginal position in a class-stratified, highly individuated, capitalistic society. It represents an effort to cope with feelings of hopelessness and despair that develop from the realization of the improbability of achieving success in terms of the values and goals of the larger society”(Wilber 7). Akin to the children in “Hansel and Gretel”, most impoverished individuals within the United States do not have the ability to make it out of their class system. They are stuck in a cyclical nature in which Wilber references the “culture of poverty” (Wilber 42). Moreover, aside from the sheer luck of finding the witch’s house, Hansel and Gretel would have never had the privilege of being financially stable. With a vanishing middle class in the United States, the wealth gap between the class systems has created a divided society that is becoming increasingly separate from each other. The experience of the poor and the experience of the rich within the United States are worlds apart.
Overconsumption versus Food Insecurity
The implications of capitalist society are characterized by overconsumption by those who have, and food insecurity by those who do not. Children often lack the resources and knowledge to be functioning, productive members in capitalist institutions alone, therefore in the system children are solely reliant on adults to provide them resources. As demonstrated in “Hansel and Gretel”, without the presence of a competent adult figure children become insecure about food. We are introduced to the children of the story and their circumstance of “never having very much to eat in the house… during the time of famine, the woodcutter could no longer put bread on the table”(Brothers Grimm 197). These children living in a struggling household, are not able to contribute to the labor force to get nourishment for themselves. So when they are abandoned in the forest it is expected that they will not survive. Through great luck, they do and find a place that contains an infinite amount of delights at their disposal. It is noted that the children ate and “continued to eat without getting distracted”(Brothers Grimm 302). This new comfortability presents an extreme shift from the norms of food insecurity that encompassed their daily life back at home, that makes it difficult for them to show restraint. In “Examining Overconsumption, Competitive Consumption, and Conscious Consumption from 1994 to 2004: Disentangling Cohort and Period Effects” Jasun Carr, a political scientist, and professor in communications at Susquehanna University, argues that “when in a position of economic stability, our values and responsibilities shift and our desires as consumers lead to higher economic contributions in many sectors of the economy”(Carr 1). This is true for many wealthy individuals within the United States who have “disposable income” that can be dispensed on the whims of their desires. The drastic contrast in access to resources results in two extreme differences that require a middle ground. Highlighted within “Hansel and Gretel”, the children start at home that is a representative of where they are deprived of food. Their reality, encompassed by the absence of food, quickly shifts as they discover the Witch’s house, which is covered in a surplus of delights. Nevertheless, there is no in-between; no place that symbolizes balance. The common thread demonstrated is that individuals are either engulfed in poverty so much that they don’t know when their next meal is, or they have accumulated a surplus of wealth that allows them to over-consume food items at an unsustainable rate. The idea of gluttony and starvation are two sides of the same extreme coin of capitalism that forces individuals to choose from.
Conclusion
The antithesis of two options presented in facets of The United States socioeconomic system has created an environment where people within capitalistic societies are stuck within a perpetual cycle of having all or nothing. The tale of “Hansel and Gretel” showcases the symptoms of capitalism and serves as a warning sign to the implications these tendencies can have on the rich and poor within our society. The idea of “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps” and working individually to generate wealth has conflicted with the idea of working as a collective society to achieve goals. Living in poverty with little to no education, opportunities, and experience is skewed in contrast to the perception of wealth and living comfortably. Lastly, the divide between the rich and poor have created contrasting methods of consumption via food insecurity and overconsumption. In “Hansel and Gretel”, the only solution presented for the two children to escape their situation was an experience. We must provide disenfranchised men, women, and children with opportunities and resources that will give them the expertise they need to overcome the perils of poverty and food insecurity. They cannot do it alone and without the help of strong governmental policies that include mutual aid, increased funding in welfare programs, and education. Becoming more collective with our allocation of resources is essential to solving issues that are created by capitalism in the United States.
Work Cited
Carr, Jasun D., et al. “Examining Overconsumption, Competitive Consumption, and Conscious Consumption from 1994 to 2004: Disentangling Cohort and Period Effects.” he Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 644, no. 1, 2012, pp. 220-33. ProQuest. Accessed 8 April 2021.
Garner, Rosalie. Food Insecurity: Patterns, Prevalence, and Risk Factors. New York : Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2016. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost).
Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm Grimm. Hansel and Gretel. 7th ed., Berlin: Dieterich, 1857. pp. 297-304.
Marx, Karl, et al. The Communist Manifesto (Penguin Classics). 1st ed., Penguin Classics, 2002.
Smith, Adam, and Alan Krueger. The Wealth of Nations (Bantam Classics). Annotated, Bantam Classics, 2003.
Tatar, Maria, editor. The Classic Fairy Tales. Second Edition ed., W.W Norton and Company, 2016.
Wilber, George L. Poverty: A New Perspective. Lexington : The University Press of Kentucky, 2015. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost).
