NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
A successful economy is perhaps the most key ingredient leading to a successful nation. An economy is a delicate balance of many different conflicting and coexisting elements. Naturally, an economy's success can often be measured by the amount of wealth is contains, not to mention the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of its distribution of the wealth. Effective distribution of wealth is no easy feat. Wealthy and poor people will always need to coexist- this is an inescapable truth. The government's job in many cases becomes that of a referee.
Naturally, perfect peace and harmony between to totally different classes would be a utopia, and probably will never be completely achieved. A government must, therefore, regulate economy so that one class does not overrun the other. "The real struggle is over a vastly more important issue: who owes what to whom. This most hoary and basic of all social debates usually afforded reverence and inattention of great art: People know its there and mostly they ignore it" (Wines 238). Society will constantly debate this issue. By very definition, however, there will also always be a wide spectrum of opinions because of social status. Naturally, the poor will always feel cheated because they feel as if opportunity never has and never will pass them by.
The rich, conversely, will always feel as if they are doing society a great favor simply by having their wealth. Poor versus rich debates will never go away no matter how much change is done to government and society. The "just deserts" theory of poverty is one that best describes American society. "For many, the logic of the mobility ideology led to a 'just deserts' rationalization. The matter was simple, according to a local editor: 'We declare it a vice and a sin for a man to be poor, if he can help it. ' And the typical poor man in America could help it" (Thernstrom 33). More often than not poverty can be helped. Perhaps poverty is what is deserved for laziness in American society.
America can not alleviate the defective state of society. Other nations inevitably encounter many of the very same problems and deal with them differently, establishing a wide range of economic systems. Some take on a traditional economy in which one assumes the same job as his or her parents. This system allows very little mobility and is not seen very much worldwide. Other nations chose a command economy. This entails the federal government appointing individuals with occupations and allows them to become skilled at their respective craft.
The market model of economy, developed by Adam Smith entails a freely flowing economy that places little or not restriction on occupation allowing individuals utmost rights. America took on an ethos of a mixed economy of market and command that struck a successful economic equilibrium. American economy also changes with different periods of history. The Civil War had lit the spark of industrialization needed to enhance the American economy. Technology advanced by leaps and bounds and free labor was done away with to make room for Industrialization and Adam Smith's market model of capitalism.
Capitalism was a promoter of the entrepreneur and individual success. It was only natural that during this time of private interest the gap between rich and poor would be greatly widened and a state of disorder might arise. Capitalism was a new ideology and drastic labor problems and social disorder arose because Americans were simply adjusting to (and taking advantage of) the new system. Although the gap between rich and poor during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was unquestionably large, the nation was also prospering through large economic gains. Although it may have seemed like a nation in which the rich were detached from the poor, the US was actually harvesting a new breed of self-accomplishing individuals. With the end of free labor, the US had sought a new ideology, and found it in Adam Smith's market model.
The market model was a beneficial system overall, however, many focused not on the gains that it brought but instead on the condition of the poor. The market model was indeed a gain of the time period and was met by the pursue of individual interest. "These questions lead Smith to a formulation of the laws of the market. What he sought was 'the invisible hand, ' as he called it, whereby 'the private interests and passions of men' are led in the direction 'which is most agreeable to the interest of the whole society" (Borg 74). Smith's model promoted a much more aggressive economy and individuals sought their own success. The entrepreneur became the icon of society. The new system allowed individuals to exploit opportunity and rise to astronomical heights.
However, the new system was not solely based on individual success. Corporations sprung up all over the US, which promoted a constant struggle to compete in the business economy. Corporations were constantly seeking the improvement that would put them over the top, above competition. This cutthroat competition, by its nature left some corporations and individuals in the proverbial dust. The entrepreneurial war of all vs. all had begun. "Both businessmen (Benjamin Franklin Newhall and Benjamin Franklin) experienced the entrepreneurial war of all against all.
Both saw merchants sometimes pursue interests different from manufacturers. And both stood committed to the underlying system of private property in the means of production owned and controlled by individuals and small firms who bought and sold commodities (including the time and skills of human labor) and competed with one another for sales and, ultimately, profits... the definition of virtue as hard work and self-denial" (Dawley 40). In order to attain optimal circumstances for increased capitalism heads of corporations naturally needed to outdo each other. In many cases the price of lowering prices and speeding up production came in the form of pay cuts and layoffs. The individual needed to serve the means of the corporation.
Simply because some workers had poor working conditions does not mean that the US economy was in the gu...
Free research essays on topics related to: gap between rich, rich and poor, benjamin franklin, adam smith, american economy
Research essay sample on Gap Between Rich Rich And Poor
