Important to remember when we see historic old Carnegie Libraries that this was paternalism, not merely generosity or genuine public spirit.
I'm not suggesting their destruction.
They should be preserved wherever they are habitable and capable of being used either for their original purpose or repurposed. But they also need to remind us th…
Important to remember when we see historic old Carnegie Libraries that this was paternalism, not merely generosity or genuine public spirit.
I'm not suggesting their destruction.
They should be preserved wherever they are habitable and capable of being used either for their original purpose or repurposed. But they also need to remind us that they were a marketing gimmick for his statement that instead of paying state or local taxes, he thought he knew what was best in the patronizing phrase that he was "doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves."
Much writing about Carnegie fills the definition of hagiography, but a contemporary of his, Theodore Roosevelt, said this about him and his sometimes self-serving pacifism and isolationism:
"[I have] tried hard to like Carnegie, but it is pretty difficult. There is no type of man for whom I feel a more contemptuous abhorrence than for the one who makes a God of mere money-making and at the same time is always yelling out that kind of utterly stupid condemnation of war which in almost every case springs from a combination of defective physical courage, of unmanly shrinking from pain and effort, and of hopelessly twisted ideals. All the suffering from Spanish war comes far short of the suffering, preventable and non-preventable, among the operators of the Carnegie steel works, and among the small investors, during the time that Carnegie was making his fortune…. It is as noxious folly to denounce war per se as it is to denounce business per se. Unrighteous war is a hideous evil; but I am not at all sure that it is worse evil than business unrighteousness."
Nasaw, David (2006). Andrew Carnegie. New York: Penguin Group. p. 675. ISBN 978-1-59420-104-2.
In addition to Heather's citation to the recent Guardian article, an excellent 2022 Guardian article also describes the self-serving nature of business leaders like Jamie Dimond who brand themselves "stakeholder capitalists."
A professor friend of mine once told me that men of great fortune never get there without exploitation of people and the law. I think Carnegie is a great example of that.
Thank you for this deeper perspective. I was thinking of Carnegie’s libraries and other ‘public works.’ What has TFG used his money to build for the people? Have they started to construct a library in homage to his time in office? I can’t call it presidential. His money has gone only towards making more. He is ‘one who makes a God of mere money-making.’
Important to remember when we see historic old Carnegie Libraries that this was paternalism, not merely generosity or genuine public spirit.
I'm not suggesting their destruction.
They should be preserved wherever they are habitable and capable of being used either for their original purpose or repurposed. But they also need to remind us that they were a marketing gimmick for his statement that instead of paying state or local taxes, he thought he knew what was best in the patronizing phrase that he was "doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves."
Much writing about Carnegie fills the definition of hagiography, but a contemporary of his, Theodore Roosevelt, said this about him and his sometimes self-serving pacifism and isolationism:
"[I have] tried hard to like Carnegie, but it is pretty difficult. There is no type of man for whom I feel a more contemptuous abhorrence than for the one who makes a God of mere money-making and at the same time is always yelling out that kind of utterly stupid condemnation of war which in almost every case springs from a combination of defective physical courage, of unmanly shrinking from pain and effort, and of hopelessly twisted ideals. All the suffering from Spanish war comes far short of the suffering, preventable and non-preventable, among the operators of the Carnegie steel works, and among the small investors, during the time that Carnegie was making his fortune…. It is as noxious folly to denounce war per se as it is to denounce business per se. Unrighteous war is a hideous evil; but I am not at all sure that it is worse evil than business unrighteousness."
Nasaw, David (2006). Andrew Carnegie. New York: Penguin Group. p. 675. ISBN 978-1-59420-104-2.
In addition to Heather's citation to the recent Guardian article, an excellent 2022 Guardian article also describes the self-serving nature of business leaders like Jamie Dimond who brand themselves "stakeholder capitalists."
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/nov/20/stakeholder-capitalism-jp-morgan-walmart
Behind every great fortune lies a great crime.
-Honore de Balzac
Ye hear that, Elon
Trump will probably appoint Elon Musk Secretary of the Treasury or to head the Fed
at the head of the fools lined up for a place at the trough...
Musk knows. Not only does he not give a damn, he’s actually proud of it.
no argument here
A professor friend of mine once told me that men of great fortune never get there without exploitation of people and the law. I think Carnegie is a great example of that.
Thank you for this deeper perspective. I was thinking of Carnegie’s libraries and other ‘public works.’ What has TFG used his money to build for the people? Have they started to construct a library in homage to his time in office? I can’t call it presidential. His money has gone only towards making more. He is ‘one who makes a God of mere money-making.’