This Discussion asks you to reflect on the following: though a century
has passed since the height of the great industrialists and financiers
of the “Gilded Age”, debate over this era continues. Were these men
"captains of industry", without whom this country could not have taken
its place as a great industrial power. Or, were they "robber barons",
limiting fair competition and robbing from the poor to benefit the
rich? Where do we draw the line between unfair business practices on
the one hand, and the other hand - competition that leads to
innovation, investment, and improvement in the standard of living for
everyone? Would the industrial economy have succeeded without
entrepreneurs willing to take competition to its extremes? Where do we
draw the line between unfair business practices on the one hand, and
on the other hand, the industrial development that leads to
innovation, investment, and improvement in the standard of living for
the masses? Explore the two sides of this debate:
Discussion Option A: The Gospel of Wealth: Discuss Carnegie as a
captain of industry and philanthropist.
OR
Discussion Option B: The Battle of Homestead: Discuss Carnegie as a
captain of industry and a robber baron.
Sample Solution