Carnegie begins by addressing how civilization has changed from there not being a huge difference between the "chief" and his "retainers", but how the castles of todays billionaires versus the cottage of the laborer is vastly different. He considers this essential for humanity. He poses the question of "why is the wealth of few a good plan?" and promises to answer that, saying that it should be competence, not wealth, that people should want to acquire. A surplus of wealth can be acquired in three ways: left to the family, used for public works, or administered during the lives by the wealthy. He believed the first way was unjust and not beneficial to the family. He is not entirely supportive of the second either, because the wealth could be used in a way the giver did not intend, he has no power over it. However, he does support the taxation of a wealthy estate after death. This encourages the rich to distribute their wealth in their lifetime as opposed to leaving it to the state. This was Carnegie's preferred method of money management. He also supported the unequal distribution of wealth. The wealth of all the minority spread to the majority, which is beneficial for the masses. Overall, Carnegie believed that the duty of the wealthy was to distribute his wealth for the common welfare and set an example for his dependents.
Mark Zuckerberg is similar to Carnegie in that he made a fortune, but was very generous with his wealth, and is a known philanthropist.
No comments:
Post a Comment