gospel of wealth
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
The Gospel of Wealth
The Gospel of Wealth was the term for a view supported by many successful businessmen that their considerable wealth was a social benefit for all. These businessmen were mainly new to the their fortune due to the new industries, trade and railroads. These men talked of progress and change but used words that meant nothing about what they talked about. They gave words their own meaning to trick the lesser or middle class in supporting their theory on how the country should be run. Many ideas for The Gospel of Wealth came from Herbert Spencer's ideas of Social Darwinism. Many disapproved with the Gospel and spoke out about how it did not included the middle and lower class. The promoter's linked wealth with responsibility, arguing that those with great material possessions had equally great commitment to society. Men like Andrew Carnegie largely supported this idea.
The wealthy took it upon them to write their own vocabulary where everything that was written for them and to almost promotes them. Words as simple as "man" now to them meant "economic man"...