Others, however, view Carnegie as an important industrialist who was the king of steel. In the grand scheme of things, Andrew Carnegie’s good deeds clearly outweigh the bad. He made good and efficient steel, became very involved in philanthropy, and created jobs for thousands of American people. Carnegie was not a “robber baron”, but rather a groundbreaking industrialist who set the standards for further industrialization in the United States. Andrew Carnegie’s involvement in steel is what made him a hero in the sense of industry.
What he means by this is that it’s not only the right thing to do but it is the duty of the wealthy elites to ensure the advancement of society as a whole. Moreover, he even takes it a step further and asserts that, “They [rich men] have it in their power during their lives to busy themselves in organizing benefactions from which the masses of their fellows will derive lasting advantage, and thus dignify their own lives” (Carnegie 370). Thus, the philanthropy of the rich is not only beneficial to the community but also the individual. His favor of a Carnegie later goes on to even go as far as condemning those who worships wealth as a false idol. He is very critical of those who hoarded their surplus riches while living and only wait until their death to allow their amassed fortune to be used for public goods.
Essay 1 Wealth and Poverty October 11, 2010 Carnegie and the Refinements of Civilization One of the wealthiest individuals in US history, Andrew Carnegie is a virtual poster child for the American dream, starting as a poor immigrant who, as he stated, “pulled himself up by the bootstraps” to become one of the most powerful figures of his day. Some think of him only as wolf in sheep’s clothing or a robber-baron who made his fortune on the backs of his downtrodden workers. Both points of view are certainly valid, but a third category is of equal importance. He is also known as the “Patron Saint of U.S. Libraries,” a philanthropist who provided vast sums of his accumulated wealth to the development of public libraries throughout America. Carnegie took a strong stance on wealth and its stewardship.
In vertical integration, Carnegie bought companies that produce resources for steel making. Because he didn’t have to pay for the resources, he was able to make more profit. In combination with horizontal integration, the merging with or taking over of other similar companies in order to establish a monopoly, Carnegie was able to make staggering amounts of money. These business strategies clearly display that Carnegie was an innovative and successful captain of industry. Many people criticize Carnegie because he made so much money and paid his workers little in comparison, but Carnegie would go on to donate millions of dollars to worthy causes.
Austin Herbert and Gordon McGregor, two unequally successful entrepreneurs, demonstrate with their careers that success is in greater dependence on luck than on an entrepreneur’s will, with luck being defined as a lack of control, unequal distribution of natural assets, and dissimilar inheritance of material wealth. McGregor was more successful as Austin because the material and social wealth he inherited, something determined by luck, was greater than the one inherited by Austin. McGregor was born as a second son of William McGregor, a future entrepreneur. His father would found the Milner-Walker Wagon Works Company in 1897. Austin was also born as a second son but to Giles Stevens, a farmer.
Haylee Michael 11/5/11 Ap US- Chapter 5 essay The “Framers” of our Constitution are looked at through two different spectacles; those who believe these men had our nation in consideration, and those who say the Constitution was a way to enhance their financial stability. Although, most of these men were of money, power, and property, they have still sacrificed for our country to benefit us as a whole. There is no saying that just because these men were already of wealth, that they would create the Constitution just to ensure it. In reality, it was a benefit that these were the men that wrote it; we cannot expect the poor in our society to be the framers, when these were the men of highest education. Without the Constitution America
Noam Chomsky on NAFTA One of Noam Chomsky’s major issues about President Clinton’s administration is that his biggest concern lies in supporting the wealthy with the use of government force to support big business corporations. Part of his achievement with NAFTA and other government agreements in the past are just enforced to benefit a small sector of the elite groups and increase their decision-making power. One of his major criticisms with this is that all the wealth goes to only this small sector of the wealthy. Therefore, economic integration is separating the gap in society to an even larger group of low growth and low income and a small sector of the wealthy and powerful. There were many issue and concerns that were brought up by the callers.
Response paper The essay “The way to wealth”, written by Benjamin Franklin and published in 1757, deals with the former bad economical situation in America and gives advice how to escape from it to achieve a wealthier life. In the following, I will elaborate on the different kinds of virtues that Franklin found important in order to become wealthier as well as the fact that they are still relevant nowadays. Benjamin Franklin points out that every man can improve his life and accomplish wealth by working hard, spending time efficiently and saving and spending money wisely. If you use your time efficiently, not by being lazy but by working, you will improve your situation. Nobody will ever be successful by being lazy.
Shareholders and managers became rich off of Welch's vision. In the Welch system, wealth was transferred from workers to shareholders. He insulated himself from the pain this caused, rationalizing that what he did was for the greater good. However, on the other hand, the company pressured cities, counties, and states to lower taxes by threatening to relocate operations, and this lowered budgets for schools. As we all know, education industry is like the lifeline and future in a country.
The article "My Philanthropic Pledge" by Warren Buffet has a favourable attitude to the initiative. This of course makes sense since Buffet, who wrote the article, is co-founder of the project. He explains how this project exists to benefit the poor, and how he would rather share his fortune because too much money does not make him happy. The text "The rich want a better world? Try paying fair wages and tax" by Peter Wilby however turns the perspective 180 degrees and has a clear negative attitude to the initiative.