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. Ultimately, it is his belief that the wealthy have a responsibility of utmost importance to society in making sure that the community also get the benefits of a continuously improving society. It is their responsibility, for they are the best equipped and have the means to do so. This stems from Carnegie’s acknowledgment of a justified inequality because of social Darwinism. That’s
Capitalism mostly has a "free market" economy, which means people buy and sell things by their own judgment. Opposingly, socialism is an economic system characterised by a kind of society where people work together to get a fair standard of living (TheFreeDictionary, 2013). Socialists believe capitalism is bad for society and the government is responsible for reducing it via programs that benefit the poor such as free public education, free or subsidized healthcare, higher taxes on the rich. In contrast, capitalists believe that government does not use economic resources as efficiently as private enterprise and therefore society is better off with the free market determining economic winners and losers (Diffen, 2013). In capitalism, the market determines price, including the price of labour.
As the imperishable property of money and the selfishness of people, some people try to accumulate the wealth while some people cannot get enough. This creates economic inequality, which leads people to become irrational and think they are more valuable than the others, which violates the law of nature. Therefore, a medium institution or power is desired for preventing the problems of economic inequality and helping to allocate and distribute the resources evenly to the people. This is one of the aims of the government. Second, punishment is difficult.
It seems that in the metaphor rich nations are playing the role of King while poor nations become paupers that could contribute nothing but only wait for help. This metaphor is so unfair because it totally distorts the relationship and exaggerates the differences between rich nations and poor nations. As we know, in the modern society no single nation could survive without the premise of intercommunication and mutual benefit. Even for the wealthiest and strongest nation the United States, imports and foreign help are quite necessary. For
Perhaps the existence of poverty serves as an incentive, encouraging everyone to work harder than they otherwise might, to avoid becoming poor, and thereby boosting the general level of wealth. From a symbolic interactionist perspective, poverty would be recognized as symbols (or labels) given to each other. Sociologists would study the personal relationships between the impoverished. They would look at stereotypes that people have towards impoverished people. They may also look at stereotypes the impoverished have towards the wealthy.
In a socialist state, the government evaluates the contributions of all workers and fixes wages accordingly. This seems a fair system. Yet, the reality of the situation is that any government's ability to pay depends on the size of the gross national product. If this is inadequate, everybody's pay will be low, with the exception of the favoured few, and standards of living will also be low. It is therefore an irony that many governments are abandoning socialism in favour of the freedom of the market economy to create wealth.
Capitalism affects everyone in a different way; it affects the quality of life one can have. Capitalism is morally deficient economic system in today’s society because it creates an unequal opportunity for citizens, causes a gap in the economic classes, has reversed the consumer- retailer relationship from a ‘push’ to a ‘pull’, leads to unfair free trading with other countries, and loses jobs for the hard working United States citizens. Capitalism creates an unequal opportunity for citizens to obtain an equal education, equal housing, and equal jobs opportunities in society. A symbolic analyst according to Robert B. Reich, in “Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer” is in support of higher education. People with a higher education are not only able to help save their country, but they are able to help save the world.
However industrialization also brought human suffering, unhealthy working conditions and pollution to the society. This overall led to a huge wealth gap between the rich and the poor. Many different philosophies emerged in hopes to solve poverty and to ensure peoples happiness. Laissez-Faire Liberalism was planning to make a capitalist society that supported the idea “the survival of the fittest”. This believed that humans would progress without any regulations.
Exponents of the capitalism are of the opinion that the government interference will lead to inefficiencies in the utilization of economic resources. They strongly advocate that private enterprises motivated by maximization of profits will lead to advancements in society, which will ultimately benefit everyone. Proponents of Socialism are of the contrary opinion. They believe economic inequality will not achieve the overarching goals of the wider society, and the government is ultimately responsible for reducing any perceived inequalities through programs that benefit the less able members of society. Capitalism is an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods.
People were being turned into slaves and treated like nothing. Today, our society think that professional athletes, singers, or actors are “worth more” than people who have good hearts but who do not make as much money. We base the value of life by our achievements, one’s past, or the salary one receives. This shouldn’t be the way we value one’s life. We as a society cannot assign a value on one’s life.