Yakov Alpert

One of the major differences between communism and capitalism in the early twentieth century was their conceptions of higher education. In America, college was open to all, but not all working class families could afford enrollment. Under Soviet communism, colleges preferred to admit the children of blue-collar workers, because they were considered most likely to build state socialism. As for employment, the two systems were not so different. Both ran labor exchange offices or employment commissions, although in the United States these were (and still are) operated by the states and not the national government. But in both systems "who you know" was always the surest path to a good job. Moreover, both systems rewarded hard work by paying higher wages to those who produced more or whose skills were in the greatest demand.

Yakov Alpert was one...