America Should Be A Capitalist Nation - 1213 Words

During the nineteenth century there was a constant debate on if the government should regulate the businesses and people of America. This debate included many different sides other than the capitalists versus the socialists, throughout America people were placed on a spectrum from socialists to capitalists with millions of different variations and beliefs in between the extremists. Some viewpoints included men like William Graham Sumner or Herbert Spencer that believed in laissez-faire capitalism but differed in exact beliefs of how America should be ran from other capitalists such as Andrew Carnegie and then there were viewpoints from men such as Henry Demarest Lloyd who strongly opposed capitalism. Each perspective had positives and†¦show more content†¦They also shared the belief that people had an individual duty to better themselves and those people that did not progress in society did not deserve help or guidance from those that were able to do so on their own. Sumne r describes a person that is unable to progress individually as, â€Å"a man who is present as a consumer, yet who does not contribute either by land, labor, or capital to the work of society† and he believed that, â€Å"on no sound political theory ought such a person to share in the political power of the state. (518)† Spencer shared in this view, he stated that individuals that were wealthy and in control of business were more ‘perfect’ than those that were poor and had not tried to progress to their highest potential. He thought that the wealthy should not help the poor and that through this process a social Darwinism would occur weeding out the weak. Although some capitalists agreed with these men’s thoughts, not all did, including Andrew Carnegie. Another argument in favor of a capitalist America was that of Carnegie. He agreed with capitalists like Sumner and Spencer that laissez-faire capitalism was the right choice for American society, but he differed in their opinion about how America should react to the poor. Like Sumner and Spencer, Carnegie thought that the owners of companies should have complete control of their companies and should not be regulated by the government. Unlike Sumner and Spencer, Carnegie