“This area used to be the textile capital of the world,” Capuano said.
“Some people need a manufacturing job,” he said. “They can’t all go to Harvard University.”
He warned that without a diverse economy, Americans would be divided into two classes—“the people that sweep the floors at the biotech company and the scientists at the biotech company.”
Throughout the debate on free trade, Capuano also had time to wax on such issues as the differences between the two main political parties and his own life as a politician.
“The Republican Party believes everyone should stand on their own two feet, and if not, too bad,” Capuano said.
Democrats, on the other hand, believe that we need to “come together as a society and help all people,” he said.
Capuano said there are occasionally conflicts between his ideals and his loyalty to his constituents.
And while he almost always places the interests of his constituents first, he said sometimes his ideals take precedence.
“Politicians who only listen to their constituents aren’t leaders; they’re followers,” he said. “On occasion, I think politicians should lead.”
—Staff writer David A. Weinfeld can be reached at weinfeld@fas.harvard.edu.