Destiny Manifested

Wealth and American society

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Destiny Manifested

The outstanding American scientist Frederick Jackson Turner went down in the history of science as the creator of the fundamental concept of capitalisms in American history. Whereas, Carnegie talks about the link between wealth and capitalism. Turner and Carnegie justifies the concentration of wealth generated by capitalism in social, political and cultural context.

The main reason is the fundamental difference in the socio-political foundations of two societies: feudal-monarchist that could not give its people the opportunities to develop free territories that the United States, though not all, but a significant part of its people, gave radically different social nature. And yet, with all the flaws, Turner's concepts retain their scientific significance. Most importantly, the West seriously influenced the civilizational identity of the United States. The mass migration of Americans to the Western territories and the conversion of many of them into independent owners strengthened the democratic side of American capitalism, expanded its social base, provided it with advantages that other communities of Western civilization did not have. Capitalism, in US agriculture developed more dynamically and successfully than, for example, in England, as in most other European countries, where the lower layers did not have similar opportunities for advancement to upper social groups. Due primarily to the presence of a “moving border” in the West, as it is known in historical literature, a “moving border” between classes were created. It is also important to note that in the Х1Х century. Many American workers, even without the ability to save money to move to the West as farmers, nevertheless, for the most part, dreamed about it. They shared what many historians call an egalitarian myth : faith in the possibility of becoming an independent master in American conditions.

The Gospel of wealth is based on the idea that commercial competition entails the "survival of the best", i.e. those who have "the greatest talent for organizing". Carnegie believed that those who succeed in business and build huge fortunes are better able to judge the course of the world, and therefore well placed to know where to provide financial assistance. He thought that successful people should retire early enough to spend their fortune on philanthropic actions. In other words, Carnegie thought that a great individual wealth contributed to the radiance of civilization. Carnegie also advocated inheritance as a stimulus, saying it would "encourage wealthy men to take care of the use of their wealth in their lifetime." Encouraging the rich to use their money for a good cause in their lifetime is better, he said, to leave it in the hands of their children (who probably do not have their talent).

Concludingly, both Turner and Carnegie talk about the capitalist and American society in their famous works.

Bibliography

Carnegie, Andrew. The gospel of wealth. Century, 2013.

Turner, Frederick Jackson. "The significance of the frontier in American history." (1893).