Andrew Carnegie states that “The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.” According to Carnegie, the wealthy have a noble responsibility of reducing the ever-growing gap between the rich and the poor. Although he does not advocate for socialism, Carnegie states that the wealthy should shun extravagance and instead use their money to promote the common good in society ( The Gospel of Wealth | Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2020) . Andrew Carnegie’s words are still relevant to the world today. There is an increasing gap between the wealthy and the poor as a small percentage of the world population holds the majority of the global wealth. There is a big population of people living in third world nations while those countries’ combined national incomes are less than the net worth of a few Western billionaires. Thus, this paper examines the difference, if any, between Carnegie’s view of the social responsibility of the wealthy and the view of the ultra-wealthy today.
Most ultra-wealthy are doing what Andrew Carnegie advocated as evident with the numerous charity organizations established by the world’s richest people. For instance, Bill Gates, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is running one of the largest charity organizations providing support to people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa ( Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2020) . The primary goal of the Foundation, globally, is to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty and to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology in the US.
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While some billionaires have devoted a portion of their wealth to promote a common good as advocated by Carnegie, most wealthy people are still rich at the expense of the poor. The rampant corruption witnessed in most parts of the world is greatly contributing to extreme poverty while the perpetrators grow rich. In some mineral-rich countries in Africa, for example, the majority of the citizens still live poorly while a few thrive by trading minerals abroad (Agulanna, 2006). For instance, the Democratic Republic of Congo is a mineral-rich country supply a sizable portion of the world's gold but the majority of the country's population leads poor living standards.
Employment is another way in which the ultra-modern wealthy go against Carnegie’s gospel of wealth. The gap between the rich and the poor in the modern world is increasingly growing because wealthy employers continue making profits by paying their workers poorly. Larger corporations demonstrate how the wealthy are undermining the poor. For example, Apple has been making significant profits every year but the company has been criticized for contracting companies that mistreat employees in China (Mishel, Bernstein, & Schmitt, 2016). One study indicated that some employees have had to struggle with job-related stress leading them to commit suicide. While large corporations have sponsored various projects as part of their corporate social responsibilities, evidence shows that they only use a small percentage of their annual incomes to give back to society.
In conclusion, Carnegie stated that the wealthy have a noble responsibility of reducing the ever-growing gap between the rich and the poor but there is a great difference between Andrew Carnegie’s view of the responsibility of the wealthy towards the society and the view of the ultra-wealthy today. Most wealthy people use their wealth to create more wealth rather than use it to advance common societal good. The capitalistic mentality of the wealthy has resulted in a widened gap between the rich and the poor. Although some wealthy people have devoted parts of their wealth to charity, the majority of them only contribute an insignificant portion of their wealth to promote what Carnegie referred to as a common good.
References
Agulanna, C. (2006). Democracy and the crisis of leadership in Africa. The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies , 31 (3), 255.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (2020). https://www.gatesfoundation.org/
Mishel, L., Bernstein, J., & Schmitt, J. (2016). The state of working America: 1992-93 . Routledge.
The Gospel of Wealth | Carnegie Corporation of New York. (2020). https://www.carnegie.org/publications/the-gospel-of-wealth/
