Business

As is the case with much of Saunders’ work, some of the stories in this collection may be interpreted as critiques of capitalism, specifically relating to stories’ illustrations of capitalism’s frequent disregard for human wellbeing. One of the ways in which some of these stories develop this critique is by examining dangerous disparities of wealth and power that capitalism may create. For example, in “CivilWarLand in Bad Decline,” the park’s unscrupulous owner—Mr. Alsuga—is able to coerce his employees into unethical action because the employees are dependent on their paychecks. When Mr. Alsuga considers forcing an employee to violently retaliate against the vandals, he chooses an employee with a large family to support; Mr. Alsuga states, “We’ll need someone between a rock and a hard place” (7). The story thereby demonstrates how capitalism may give employers an unethical amount of power over employees...