History 479B
Devine
Study
Questions for Tuesday, 11 September
Summers, “Opportunity?”
- The author sums up Social
Darwinism by saying “Unhampered, the natural process of elimination meant
progress.” What does this
mean? Why is “unhampered” the key
word?
- Why were many of the cultural
attitudes and prejudices associated with Social Darwinism attractive to
different groups of Americans? Why
was ascribing to Social Darwinism often self-serving?
- What were the tenets of Booker T.
Washington’s gospel of self-improvement? Would you say Washington was a Social Darwinist?
- The author suggests rising in
status had more to do with circumstances than the “laws” of the
market. What evidence would he cite
to support this argument?
- Why could Spencer’s doctrine of
“survival of the fittest” never be tested in the real world?
- What factors kept many Gilded Age
Americans from beginning life on a “level playing field”?
- Why did the
“progress” associated with the industrial era mean even more
impediments to advancement for African Americans?
- How did Henry George propose to
address economic inequality? How
did his views differ from those of the Social Darwinists?
- Why was Carnegie, despite his
admiration for Spencer, not really a Social Darwinist?
- Why did taking into account
conditions and environment (and humans’ ability to change these factors)
undermine the Social Darwinist doctrine of “survival of the fittest”?
Henry George vs
Andrew Carnegie
- How does George define “social
progress” and being a “good citizen”?
What might his ideal “good society” look like?
- According to George, how can
democratic “forms” (like universal suffrage) actually produce a government
more beholden to the wealthy?
- According to George, how are
great fortunes acquired? What would
he consider a great fortune honestly acquired?
- What alternative does George
offer that would address the issue of great concentrations of wealth?
- Why does Carnegie believe
concentrations of wealth in certain individuals’ hands have benefited society?
- What would Carnegie think of
George’s definition of a “good citizen”?
- Why does Carnegie argue against
“uprooting” the current laws of society?
- Why does Carnegie advise against
leaving wealth to one’s children?
- Carnegie declares, “Wealth,
passing through the hands of the few, can be made a much more potent force
for the elevation of our race than if distributed in small sums to the
people themselves.” Would George agree?
Do you?
- Carnegie declares, “Those worthy
of assistance, except in rare cases, seldom require assistance.” Do you agree? If you were to disagree, how would
evidence in Summers’ chapter “Opportunity?”
help you to make your case?
- What does Carnegie believe the
wealthy should do with their wealth?
- Whose proposed solutions to the
problem of concentrated wealth seem more likely to do the most lasting
good for the largest number – Carnegie’s or George’s? A little of both? Neither?
Sumner, “The Concentration of Wealth: Its Economic Justification”
- According to Sumner, why must there be concentrations of
wealth to insure the successful execution of “societal undertakings”?
- Why is the concentration of
wealth necessary for progress?
- In what sense in the
concentration of wealth a “trade-off”?
By accepting great concentrations of wealth, what does the average
person get in return?
- How would Sumner respond to
George’s arguments about social inequality and concentrations of wealth?