History 479B

Devine

Study Questions for Tuesday, 11 September

 

Summers, “Opportunity?”

 

  1. 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?

 

  1. 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?

 

  1. What were the tenets of Booker T. Washington’s gospel of self-improvement? Would you say Washington was a Social Darwinist?

 

  1. 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?

 

  1. Why could Spencer’s doctrine of “survival of the fittest” never be tested in the real world?

 

  1. What factors kept many Gilded Age Americans from beginning life on a “level playing field”? 

 

  1. Why did the “progress” associated with the industrial era mean even more impediments to advancement for African Americans?

 

  1. How did Henry George propose to address economic inequality?  How did his views differ from those of the Social Darwinists?

 

  1. Why was Carnegie, despite his admiration for Spencer, not really a Social Darwinist?

 

  1. 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

 

  1. How does George define “social progress” and being a “good citizen”?  What might his ideal “good society” look like?

 

  1. According to George, how can democratic “forms” (like universal suffrage) actually produce a government more beholden to the wealthy?

 

  1. According to George, how are great fortunes acquired?  What would he consider a great fortune honestly acquired?

 

  1. What alternative does George offer that would address the issue of great concentrations of wealth? 

 

  1. Why does Carnegie believe concentrations of wealth in certain individuals’ hands have benefited society?

 

  1. What would Carnegie think of George’s definition of a “good citizen”?

 

  1. Why does Carnegie argue against “uprooting” the current laws of society?

 

  1. Why does Carnegie advise against leaving wealth to one’s children?

 

  1. 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?

 

  1. 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?

 

  1. What does Carnegie believe the wealthy should do with their wealth? 

 

  1. 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”

 

  1. According to Sumner, why must there be concentrations of wealth to insure the successful execution of “societal undertakings”?

 

  1. Why is the concentration of wealth necessary for progress?

 

  1. 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?

 

  1. How would Sumner respond to George’s arguments about social inequality and concentrations of wealth?