Wealth Doesnt Require Morals

Authors Avatar

Ryan Marschang

AP Macroeconomics

Final Exam Essay Question 1

Wealth Doesn’t Require Morals

        American society is constantly evolving. Over the past three centuries Americans have experienced a wide array of economic, social and political change. Regardless, American society has always attempted to embody the ethos of individualism and the American dream; rags to riches. However, history clearly depicts the potential negative consequences of unregulated individualism – large economic disparity. In the early 1900’s, captains of industry such as J.P Morgan and others acquired significant amounts of wealth and gained seemingly insurmountable amounts of power in society. Contrary to this, the majority of the citizens were left with remarkably small amounts of money. After Black Thursday and the New Deal, society cleaned itself up and became more egalitarian. Yet, the past three decades seem to hint that American society is undergoing a gradual socioeconomic transformation into a new ‘Gilded Age’ composed of inequality and implications for economic efficiency and political harmony. This is at least what Paul Krugman argues in his article “For Rich”.

        In order to analyze the status quo to the fullest extent, historical comparisons must be explored, in particular, the first ‘Gilded Age’ in the early 1900’s. During this time, there was a substantial growth in population and extravagant displays of wealth. Figures such as J.P Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller are the epitome of this age. The economy was controlled and run by these robber barons. Wealth polarization derived primarily from industrial and population expansion. One negative aspect of this societal construction was vulnerability. If one of those immensely wealthy figures fell, it would damage the economy and as such the economy essentially revolved around the wealthy. Furthermore, this vast disparity and immense power wielded by the wealthy instigated the beginnings of the union movement and the ability to harness some power from the masses.

Join now!

        However, October 29th 1929, tragedy struck the United States – the Great Depression. This tragic event shook society up. The New Deal, headed by F.D.R, gave a complex package of economic programs that helped stimulate the economy and input restrictions or precautionary measures on the economy for the future; for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission. The New Deal and the Great Depression together changed societal norms. F.D.R used government control over wages to compress the wage gaps. Out of this event, emerged a huge middle class and egalitarian values. Economic historians, Claudia Goldin and Robert Margo have deemed these years ...

This is a preview of the whole essay