Herbert Spencer vs. Andrew Carnegie

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the concept of social Darwinism. It specifically discusses the philosophies of social Darwinism theorists, Herbert Spencer and Andrew Carnegie with regard to their views of social Darwinism. The paper details each of their theories and then compares them, particularly with regard to how they view the amassing of wealth.

From the Paper:

"Carnegie stresses that the Gospel of Wealth is one that makes the amasser of such wealth completely and totally responsible for what he has created. After minimal accommodations to ensure that your most unprotected descendants are supported through your life and death, where he stresses helping wives and daughters the most and giving little if any nominal support to sons, who hold the social responsibility and ability of creating their own wealth in life and are often simply corrupted by freely given inheritance, the cream of the crop must dispense his surplus wealth himself, while he lives, on good works. The best possible social action of the successful Social Darwinist is to give what you have amassed through the wisdom that you have gained building said fortune. Spencer and Carnegie do not outright disagree, in the natural order determining the success and progress of man in these two works yet, Carnegie caries the idea to an extreme, making it the responsibility of those who have risen to the top to offer such opportunities to the new generation of people, who through natural selection will succeed the present. (Carnegie, 1889) (Spencer, 1857)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Carnegie A. (1889) "The Gospel of Wealth" in Modern History Sourcebook.
• Spencer, H. (1857)"Social Darwinism" in Modern History Sourcebook.

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