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Wealth distribution sociology
Social class and its effects
Impact of social class
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Our modern world is focused on unimportant things such as celebrities and their eating disorders. Whatever happened to close-knit communities focusing on neighbors and their families? Although individuals may not seem important when blended into a crowd, each person is a puzzle piece to the community.
According to Andrew Carnegie in his piece The Gospel of Wealth, he believes that the rich are (or should be) responsible for the poor. He gives an example of a young man tossing a quarter to a beggar to keep him from annoying him. However, the question must be asked: Who in the world said that a rich man must take care of his community? Why is it suddenly his responsibility? (Carnegie, 2013)
Wealth comes from only one of several reasons: one, it is inheritance passed down from one generation to the next. Two, it is righteously hard-earned and achieved through many trials; and three, out of thieving. A good example of inheritance is Finn Rausing, a Swede who inherited 5.1 billion dollars from his grandfather. An obvious example of a hard-earned paycheck is America’s very own, Steve Jobs (Moisescot, 2010). Then there are women like Rita Crundwell who love to embezzle millions of dollars from tax payers. (Babwin, 2013)
People who are wealthy are wealthy for a reason. They don’t continually spend it on little trinkets that they’ll forget about in a couple days. Like the middle-class and welfare-reliant, rich people will flock to sales just as easily. But unlike the middle-class and welfare-reliant, they won’t go out to buy expensive name-brand items. It’s not to say that they don’t, but they know how to keep their money in their bank accounts.
Suddenly, if one has more money than his friends, it’s his job to watch over the community a...
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...ple do not care about, but are important nonetheless? It is our responsibility to not have responsibilities, in the sense that everyone should be able to take control over their own lives without being forced to have a sense of duty.
Works Cited
Babwin, D. (2013). Rita Crundwell Sentencing: Nearly 20 years for ex-comptroller who stole $53 million from town. Huff Post Chicago.
Carnegie, A. (2013). The Gospel of Wealth. In e. a. Shea, The Language of Composition (pp. 361-363). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.
Hardin. (2013). Lifeboat Ethics. In e. a. Shea, The Language of Composition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.
Moisescot, R. (2010). Long Bio. Retrieved Feb 10, 2014, from All About Steve Jobs: http://allaboutstevejobs.com
Singer, P. (2013). The Singer Solution to World Poverty. In e. a. Shea, The Language of Composition (pp. 369-374). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.
Singer’s belief that everyone should give away all excess wealth to eliminate as much suffering as possible conflicts with the idea of competition and, therefore, reduces the productivity of human civilization. Peter Singer, a professor of moral philosophy, stated in his essay “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” that it is everyone’s duty to participate in philanthropy since it is morally wrong to not help someone who is suffering. Singer thoroughly explained the details of the “duty” of philanthropy: “we ought to give until we reach the level of marginal utility - that is, the level at which, by giving more, I would cause as much suffering to myself or my dependents as I would relieve by my gift.” If this philosophy is followed, and the poor beneficiary experienced the same level of comfort as the wealthy benefactor, then what incentive would the beneficiary have for
Singer, Peter. “The Singer Solution to World Poverty.” in The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing. John D. Ramage, John C. Bean, and June Johnson. 5th ed. New York: Longman, 2009. 545-49. Print.
Singer starts with the base of assumption that suffering and death from lack of the essentials of food, water, shelter, and proper medical assistance are bad. I find no problem with accepting this assumption as it is consistent with most widely accepted moral theories. Singer continues by stating “if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it”(Singer, Pg.231). Like his first statement, this one is easy to swallow. No moral code, save for maybe ethical egoism or nihilism, would attempt to refute either of his premises. His final conclusion is that if it is in our power to stop suffering and death from lack of the essentials, without sacrificing anything of comparable moral worth, we are morally obligated to do so. This essentially removes the current definition of charity, making giving money to famine relief, not a supererogatory act, but a moral duty of all people who have the ability to do so. Singer admits that this would drastically change the way people live their lives. Instead of living with any disposable income, people would be giving money to those who are living under bad or unsurvivable conditions. But wi...
In this paper I will argue that Singers arguments for solving world poverty are unrealistic for most people, not just those people in a well-off nation as America. Singer’s arguments are based on a Utilitarian Philosophic point of view, where he believes and practices the morally expected acts of kindness to our fellowmen. He does this through donating most of his salary to charities and argues that we should strive to do the same, but digress and argues the grave challenge that we face in our decision to adopt his philosophy. He concludes that all humans, specifically us in America faces the predicament of how we should act as it relates to how much we give to suffering
Hardin, G. (1974, September ). Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor. Retrieved fromhttp://www.garretthardinsociety.org/articles/art_lifeboat_ethics_case_against_helping_poor.html
... to World Poverty", the speaker uses potent pathos, thought provoking rhetorical questions, ethos, and a assertive tone to demonstrate that it is in the best interest of man kind for those living lives of luxury to exchange opulence for altruistic lifestyles which leads to a more meaningful existence. Through his usage of rhetorical questions and aggressive tone the speaker is able encourage self reflection which leads to greater acceptance of his utilitarian philosophy. The speaker also utilizes a bold tone, allusions, and references to professionals such as Peter Unger to build his credibility as an author and to gain the trust and respect of his audience. Singer uses pathos along with his assertive tone to evoke anger from the audience and make them more willing to accept the idea that forsaking materialism is in the best interest of the world community.
A penny saved may be a penny earned, just as a penny spent may begin to better the world. Andrew Carnegie, a man known for his wealth, certainly knew the value of a dollar. His successful business ventures in the railroad industry, steel business, and in communications earned him his multimillion-dollar fortune. Much the opposite of greedy, Carnegie made sure he had what he needed to live a comfortable life, and put what remained of his fortune toward assistance for the general public and the betterment of their communities. He stressed the idea that generosity is superior to arrogance. Carnegie believes that for the wealthy to be generous to their community, rather than live an ostentatious lifestyle proves that they are truly rich in wealth and in heart. He also emphasized that money is most powerful in the hands of the earner, and not anyone else. In his retirement, Carnegie not only spent a great deal of time enriching his life by giving back; but also often wrote about business, money, and his stance on the importance of world peace. His essay “Wealth” presents what he believes are three common ways in which the wealthy typically distribute their money throughout their life and after death. Throughout his essay “Wealth”, Andrew Carnegie appeals to logos as he defines “rich” as having a great deal of wealth not only in materialistic terms, but also in leading an active philanthropic lifestyle. He solidifies this definition in his appeals to ethos and pathos with an emphasis on the rewards of philanthropy to the mind and body.
After reading “The Gospel of Wealth” by Andrew Carnegie it is clear that Carnegie feels that wealthy people have a duty and purpose to provide for their community and help those less fortunate than them, however he also believes there are very specific ways this should be accomplished. Carnegie was one of the wealthiest men in U.S history. He was dedicated to the steel industry but at 65 he changed his life around completely and decided to devote the rest of his life to helping other people. He donated 5 million dollars to the New York public library and did many other things to help people with their education. He encourages people to follow his example in his piece “The Gospel of Wealth” and explains that the goal of the wealthy should be
The New York Times. The competitive political campaign calls for a lot of money in the United States. Wealth is a requirement to enter into the campaign. Donald Trump was used as an example because his wealth, influence other interest. Which made the voters wonder if they should take in consideration the politician’s personal bankroll to see how they would lead. Wealth plays a big part mostly in personality Hillary Clinton was used as an example. Her and her husband have taken money from wall street the question can she represent the interests of the working class was asked. But the real question is can money predict where the leaders views on policy. The Republicans support lowering taxes and reducing business regulations for the rich. The wealthy Democrats lawmakers agreed with the republican, but the poorer lawmakers supported raising the minimum wage or forgiving student debt. “Wealth also makes the rich feel, reason, choose, and perceive differently from the less privileged” the research
...failed in his duty to redistribute his surplus wealth to his community, and that the State should heavily tax the remaining estate. This belief that men of wealth were responsible for bridging the widening gap between the well-to-do and those hoping to do well led Carnegie to publish The Gospel of Wealth.
Life is unfair. The world has been, is, and will forever be unfair. This is because people do not get to chose the situations into which they are born. Some are lucky and will live pampered lives without much worry. Some will have to work hard for many years in order to become successful. Yet others will be seemingly cursed with a desperate situation in which every day they will struggle to stay alive with little to no hope of this lifestyle ever changing. It is this last way of life that deeply concerned a writer for the New York Times, Peter Singer, enough to write a lengthy article on what can be done to fix this. In this writing he suggests that everyone has the financial means to donate large sums of money and should do so accordingly.
The writer behind “Singers Solution to World Poverty” advocates that U.S. citizens give away the majority of their dispensable income in order to end global suffering. Peter Singer makes numerous assumptions within his proposal about world poverty, and they are founded on the principle that Americans spend too much money on items and services that they do not need.
Who does not wish to be rich? The first thing that might come to mind when thinking about having a lot of money is owning luxurious cars, living in a prodigious residency, having expensive items to wear, or anything of that nature. A rich person has the ability to buy anything to please his or her desires, and he or she can visit any place at any time without having to think about it twice. Many people perceive that happiness comes from how much money they have. People confuse being wealthy with being happy.
It’s very common for people sometimes to forget how important we all are to society. It seems like all we care about is no one but ourselves. What we do, how much money we earn, our self image, seems more important than anything else. One thing that I’ve learned, and think of it as an important value in life is not to underestimate people. We are all important no matter what we do.
Commitment to community is a requirement for contemporary Americans and vital to its survival. “Love thy neighbor as thyself” is the unselfish act of sharing: from a cup of sugar to a wealth of information to the guardianship of all children involved and the protection of every individual in that said community. Whether that community consists of the “Classic Neighborhood, those with a common set of goals, or those who share a common identity” the thread that holds this matrix together is always woven into the shared identity as well as responsibility of all involved. (Redmond, 2010). A community cannot continue to exist through the will of withdrawn individuals who arms only embrace themselves and have no involvement whatsoever with neighbors one door away.