The
Gospel of
Wealth is an essay written by
Andrew Carnegie in 1889 describing his
views on the
administration of wealth, not the
accumulation of wealth as widely assumed.
He claims that there are three ways
surplus wealth can be disposed of: It can be left to the family, it can be bequeathed for public purposes, or it can be administered during their lives by its posessor.
He denounces the first way as
arrogant and injudicious by claiming that it ruins the
character and usefulness of those to whom it is given, and gives the example of the failed
aristocracy in
Europe.
The second way of leaving wealth at death to public purposes is flawed because then the posessor of wealth only becomes useful to
society upon his death. Carnegie supports a large estate tax to "mark the condemnation of the selfish millionair'es unworthy life."
He states that the third way is the most efficient-- with the wealth of the few eventually becoming the property of the masses, in the form of the
wealthy choosing for the good of the many.
He argues that this
gospel echos Christ's words-- that this
gospel would allow the
rich man to enter the
kingdom of heaven.