Andrew Carnegie's Influence On Individualism

486 Words2 Pages

Italy Gonzalez
Hist-1302-NC3

Essay #1
Andrew Carnegie’s upbringing greatly influences his belief in individualism, which justifies his views on how he was fit to grow economically, why differences played a key role on why others could or should not.
Carnegie philosophy called for the rich to give back to the community and hard work that moves and individual forward. A miner‘s life demonstrates him progressing to a slightly higher income job that will remain in a stagnant cycle that deprives him of wealth. The miner sustains requirements and conditions that are as dangerous as they are unjust. However, to Carnegie this is not a problem. He believes that the inequality in the work place, as well as that of employer and employee, is necessary or crucial for the advancement of the race. Carnegie’s poor social status as a child planted the seed of desire for creating a better life for himself. With …show more content…

While, Carnegie continues to escalate economically, the miner suffers the same destiny as the rest. This is where Carnegie's support for survival of the fittest comes into play. His individualism and hard work enables him to establish connections that give him the opportunity to further shape his future. He believed that those who wanted to succeed would get out of their way to do so and that they should not be stopped. One of Carnegie’s most notable views was that of providing for the community. He believed that it was his duty of enriching it with art, education, and science. He claimed that he would be helping the community more than it could have ever had by itself. Although this belief could be seen as radical, he is doing it with the best intention. This, however, does not mean that his generosity would be bestowed upon anyone but only to those who are willing to help