Wealth Doesnt Require Morals

The first 200 words of this essay...

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