THE PRIORITIES OF CAPITALISM

The US Government, like every government in world capitalism spends billions of dollars in weapons of war and research into more and more deadly ways to kill and maim, but when it comes to spending two cents to save a child's life they remain strangely reluctant.
"Americans pretty much take vitamin A for granted, but many of the world’s poorest people lack it. And as a result, it is estimated that more than half-a-million children die or go blind each year. There’s a simple fix: vitamin A capsules that cost about 2 cents each."
(New York Times, 13 May) RD