Benevolent Capitalism

              The hero and title character of Ragged Dick is described repeatedly as honest-looking, but the trait he seems to display that would have been most appealing to Americans, like the Alcotts, is benevolence. Although inwardly, and among friends, Dick clearly touts the ideals of capitalism (for instance when he tells Johnny “’energy and industry are rewarded’”), outwardly he could easily be perceived as an incredibly caring and self-sacrificing character (Alger 8). Additionally, Dick reprimands Johnny for his laziness (Alger 9). To tout capitalism, Dick offers to show Frank around New York City, which could easily come across as selfless, and readers who are most interested in godliness, generosity, and selflessness would undoubtedly see those qualities in that offer, while those more interested in seeing him move up the financial ranks will see it as an opportunity.

The best example of this self-sacrifice is Dick’s jumping in the water to save the child (Alger 127). Although Alger is certain to make clear to the reader that Dick did not take the offer of a reward into consideration, he is later paid “’ten dollars a week’” (127, 130). At the very least, this particular act could help persuade more religious readers that capitalism is valuable to society. These readers will see the best, most Biblical parts of Dick: his honesty, his perceived generosity, his ability to give up his less-Biblical habits (drinking, smoking, gambling, extravagant overspending), and pair them with his ambition, his drive, his resourcefulness, and his cunningness. These readers could easily conclude from stories like Ragged Dick that capitalism is almost Biblical. The American Dream could once have been criticized as atheistic, selfish, and the antithesis of the values upon which the United States was founded. Authors like Horatio Alger helped propel capitalism into mainstream American society, which would ultimately, arguably cause the almighty dollar to be worshipped with the same reverence as the Christian God once was. Although Ragged Dick and Little Women are fundamentally different in where their characters’ motivations lie, they share enough values that readers of both books could conflate morality and capitalism; God and money.