In my commentary on the last chapter I was fairly pointed in my criticism of an orientation toward capitalism that would expect a “rising sea lifts all boats” outcome like the one described. Here in this chapter we see that it wasn’t a general truism, but a reflection of the unique commitments and orientation of Père Madeleine. So much so in fact, that the other wealthy folks around him could not make sense of his behavior or choices and continued to assign alternate motivations. Quoting Hugo:
When he was seen to be making money they said, “he’s a business man.” When he scattered his money in charity they said, “he’s a careerist.” When he refused to accept honours they said, “He’s an adventurer.” When he rejected polite society they said, “He’s a peasant.”
In fact, so resolute was Père Madeleine’s stance that initially he rejected the second offer to make him mayor. He held that position until an elderly woman chastised him for not taking the opportunity to further improve the lives of those who called Montreuil-sur-mer home.
The story is wonderful, and it’s the sort of orientation I would love to see from people with power and wealth in our society. However, it is very clearly the exception, and a rare exception at that. We can’t build society around the hope for more exceptions. No, we have to build it in a way that acknowledges the way things are. In that sense hoping the profits of those making money hand over fist trickle down is a bankrupt position. We need a system that actually requires some level of redistribution if we are going to make it.