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International Socialist Review, Winter 1959

 

Capitalist Instinct

 

From International Socialist Review, Vol.20 No.1, Winter 1959, p.25.
Transcription & mark-up by Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.

 

To grab for money, it has long been noted, is a deeply ingrained reflex among successes in the business world. A rather spectacular example of how this instinct pays off was reported last September when a Jersey Central train, carrying mostly Wall Street commuters, accidentally plunged through an open bridge into Newark Bay.

One of the survivors, Paul V. Land, a partner in the brokerage firm of Winslow, Cohu and Stetson, described his reactions:

“Then I was under water. I thought: Thank God I have lots of insurance.’ Then I remember my wallet floating. I grabbed it and put it in my pocket, i don’t know why I grabbed the wallet. There was only $10 in it. I thought I was finished. I can’t see how I survived.”

That was when the miracle occurred. The dollars were inflated.

 
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