The Duty of Wealth to Man in Andrew Carnegie’s the Gospel of Wealth
One of the captains of industry of the 19th century America, Andrew Carnegie helped build the formidable American steel industry, a process that turned a poor young man into one of the richest entrepreneurs of his age. Later in life, Carnegie sold his steel business and systematically gave his collected fortune away to cultural, education and scientific institutions for the improvement of mankind.
Carnegie was not always a rich man, which I think was one of the factors that helped make him so generous. He understood what it was like to work hard, and not have everything handed to you. Camegies success started when he was introduced to steel. In 1888 he made a profit of 2 million, 9 years later 7 million, and in 1899 his profit rose to 21 million. By 1900 he had produced more steel than the entire country of Great Britain. In 1901 Carnegie had one of the largest companies in the world, which employed more than 20 thousand laborers. Carnegie was unusual among the industrial captains of his day because he preached for the rights of laborers to unionize and to protect their jobs. Despite his large success, he desired to get out. His steel company was sold to J. P. Morgan, and he became a private citizen.
Andrew Carnegie was a successful businessman, his wealth was based on the provision of iron and steel to the railroads, but he was also a man who recalled his roots in Scotland before his immigration to the United States. He had not forgotten his heritage of concern for social justice. Carnegie came up with the notion of the gospel of wealth, to resolve what somewhat seemed to be contradictious between the creation of wealth, which he saw as proceeding from immutable social laws, and social provision. In his 1889 article of wealth he gloried in the cheep steel his leadership had given the American consumer, but also proclaimed the moral duty of all possessors of great wealth to give back their money into humanity with the same judgment, zeal, and leadership they had devoted to getting rich. Fond of the saying that the man who dies rich dies disgraced, Carnegie then turned his attention to giving away his fortune. He abhorred charity, and instead put his money to use by h!
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elping others help themselves. Carnegie wanted to help any man that had the drive, and desire to help himself. That was the reason he spent much of his collected fortune on establishing over 2,500 public libraries as well as supporting intuitions of higher learning.
So, to summarize, I believe that Carnegie wrote the gospel of wealth to let people know about the different conditions of wealth, and the three modes in which wealth can be disposed of. He also talked about the duty of the wealth man, which he believed was to produce the most beneficial result for the community. I believe that Carnegie was a very educated man, and the fact that he provided his money to make opportunities for the less fortunate was very admirable. I am not sure if I would have been as generous with my money in that way, but I do agree with the statement The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.
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The Duty of Wealth to Man in Andrew Carnegie’s the Gospel of Wealth. (2023, May 25). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/the-duty-of-wealth-to-man-in-andrew-carnegies-the-gospel-of-wealth/
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