Title: formation of modern american culture » Blog Archive » Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth
Headings: formation of modern american culture
formation of modern american culture
Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth
6 Responses to “Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth”
Leave a Reply
Pages

Content: Don’t stop there however, read the rest of
The Natural Economic Order, and learn how to have
a meaningful conversation about economics. Good luck friend. Russ
Log in to Reply
Higginson Roberts says: April 15, 2013 at 9:25 pm
Kevin nicely summarizes Carnegie’s stance on philanthropy and the role of the wealthy in promoting both community improvement but also notions of social mobility among the poor and working classes. I, however, find Carnegie’s argument somewhat troublesome and fraught with contradiction. It is contentious to claim such an opinion because although it is hard to argue that Carnegie’s actions and ideas have been harmful to American society; it is also however important to see in what ways has it been beneficial, and in particular, to what groups of people have benefited from such philanthropic actions. And more abstractly, what is Carnegie saying about the poor/working classes of America? While I understand Carnegie’s desire to ameliorate American poverty through education reform, public work funds, and other charity organizations, it is problematic in the way he views the role of the people who will be directly affected by his philanthropic measures. His staunch belief that philanthropy and the allocation of surplus funds is the sole role of the wealthy classes not only breaths a negative sense of “Social Darwinism”, but also undermines the intellectual capabilities of the lower classes.