jun 1, 1889 - Carnegie writes The Gospel of Wealth

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Andrew Carnegie’s argument that corporate leaders’ success showed their “fitness” to lead society and that poverty demonstrated, on the contrary, lack of “fitness” to compete in the new economy. Carnegie advocated, however, that wealthy men should use their fortunes for the public good.

-Carnegie advocated a near 100% inheritance tax on privately held wealth b/c he thought inheriting a lot discouraging young ppl from growing
-He also thought donating food, shelter discouraged the poor from working
-Social Darwinism: survival of the fittest

in times of prosperity, ppl call swift, Rockefeller, and carnegie industrial statesmen, other times, they are robber barons.

Some scholars have argued that industrialists benefitted the economy by replacing the chaos of market competition with a “visible hand” of planning and management. But one recent study of railroads asserts that the main skills of early tycoons lay in cultivating political friends, defaulting on loans, and lying to the public. Whether we consider the industrialists heroes, villains, or something in between, it is clear that the corporate economy was not the creation of just a few individuals, however famous or influential. It was a systemic transformation of the economy.

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