I agree with Liz when she stated that capitalism is not entirely to blame. I do believe that human selfishness and greed played a huge role in the overall poverty of the society but I think that other uncontrollable factors contributed to it as well. An overwhelming influx of people in such a short period of time will indubitably result in problems. Overcrowding will then in turn result in filthy tenement conditions and conflicts between people. Also at the same time, the government seemed to just ignore the problems. Without the help of the government, the people had no power to change their surroundings.
However, despite these conditions, I was also surprised to find out that people were kind to each other. Rebecca brings up the point that “The kindness of these poor people to each other is frequently astonishing but must be witnessed to be appreciated”. This, however, then contradicts the previous idea that people in Five Points were selfish and greedy. But as Rebecca mentioned, the town seemed to be very contradictive as a whole. I think this is characteristic of Five Points because it possesses a spectrum of different people, resulting in apparent differences and polar opposition.
As for the point about capitalism, I agree with Liz. If you compare the capitalist society we live in today to that of the past, we can see that it is very possible that a capitalist society can prosper. America today is one of the most wealthy nations. However, a economy can only prosper to its full potential if society as a whole pushes it forward.
