Blog #22" Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth

In Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth, he discusses that wealthy people have a responsibility to benefit society by spending their money responsibly and using it for the greater good. He starts his article by conveying the message that there is a price to be paid for the law of competition and free markets and the resulting stratification of a population. The benefits however, such as progress and greater material development as well as better living conditions are worth it. He believes the idea of capitalism or individualism and the right to private ownership is a far better system than socialism or communism, because although the wealth can become concentrated in the hands of the few, it is still where society has “produced the best fruit.” 

In a way, Carnegie is saying that the government should implement the policy of laissez-faire, which means that the government should keep their “hands off” of businesses. 

Social Darwinism ties into Carnegie’s beliefs because he believes that when the government leaves people alone, they have greatest opportunities to rise to the top, and that the best of these will go farther than the others and prosper. Social Darwinism connects to this because it is a theory by which social order is considered the product of natural selection and those best suited to existing living conditions will thrive when a position of laissez-faire is advocated.

Carnegie’s philanthropic beliefs were that the rich should distribute their wealth to causes they believe would benefit society. This is similar to people today such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffet who have given sizable donations to different organizations that were important to them.

Warren Buffet gave a large donation to charity, and is now the third richest man in the world.  This can be compared to Carnegie's beliefs because he also believed that giving money to causes he cared about was important.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft gave a large amount of money to  a foundation he cared about. This is similar to Carnegie's belief that giving money to causes that one is passionate about is important and can benefit society.