How Dierdre Mccloskey Opens The Second Volume Of Her Bourgeois Trilogy Essay

In 1879 Henry George wrote an article titled “Progress and Poverty”. In this article he discussed the ongoing industry and he stated that “the wealthy class is becoming more wealthy; but the poorer class is becoming more dependent.

The continuous disparity of wealth and income can cause constant economic problems within a society. Although it is not apparent all the time, there are few benefits of discrepancy itself such as individual wealth, capital, and labor. Both Smith and Carnegie have distinct beliefs about wealth that differentiate from one another, yet are similar in certain ways. Adam Smith confined all his ideas about the common man in his “Wealth of Nations”. Whereas, in the “Gospel of Wealth,” Andrew Carnegie had distinct beliefs about the effects of capitalism . All in all, economic conditions of the 21st century still date back to previous years and signify the importance of economic competition.

We can form some estimate of the possibilities for the improvement of the race, which lie embedded in the present law of the accumulation of wealth. Much of this sum, if distributed in small quantities among the people, would have been wasted in the indulgence of appetite, some of it in excess, and it may be doubted whether even the part put to results for race”(Carnegie 457).

The economy of the world is changing all the time. We have had our ups and downs, but with the help of insights from economist, we have been able to sustain a decent economy. In Naked Economics, Wheelan discusses how a country can have a successful economy. He discusses why countries are poor and why some other countries are doing lavish things, like buying a cake for a dog. The reason behind it is because the richer countries are more productive and allocate resources and the poorer countries aren’t as efficient and don’t allocate resources. Wheelan also wrote about how Steve Jobs and Bill Gates became as rich as they are. They made huge investments in human capital to become rich. They became rich because they had a product that people were willing to give their money for. There are many problems in different economies and Wheelan explains why they are failing. Some economies suffer from a poorly ran government and others suffer from the lack of information. Trade is a positive thing, but there are people that discourage it because products are imported from outside of the United States.

“Nature is rich; but everywhere man, the heir of nature, is poor.” Lloyd begins his work by complaining about how the rich remain rich and the poor remain poor; however, as the essay progresses, one can see the accuracy of his views. He references the creation of Adam and Eve, stating that, “Never since time began have all the sons and daughters of men been all warm, and filled, and all shod and roofed.” It’s been true throughout history that because of monopolies that a very small percentage of men control a majority of land and resources. Lloyd states that individuals holding a majority of resources and land believe that that there is a scarcity; that there is not enough. And in order to survive, in order to be happy, in order to be prosperous, they must contain and constrain. Men must hold on to any and everything they can get their hands on. The minority has an opposing viewpoint. It feels that there is an abundance of resources, but because of unequal distribution, there is never enough to go around: “There is too much iron, too much lumber, too much flour―for this or that syndicate. The majority have never been able to buy enough of anything; but this minority have too much of everything to sell.” Lloyd concludes by expressing that we have become a “mutual deglutition.” He states that we have advanced too quickly and implicates that we are beginning to reverse

Once the unending growth was no longer guaranteed, Americans as a whole for the first time had to deal with the realization that it is not a part of the “natural order” to become richer with every passing year (91). The generation that faced this cultural crisis was the baby boomers, and Shames quotes Thomas Hine’s Populuxe, saying in their childhood they were said to be “the luckiest generation”, when in all reality they were the ones who were forced to face the truth, that America’s belief in the thought that one will be richer every year was flawed (92). Because of this our society must deal with this reality and decide whether or not to remain ignorant or to otherwise come to terms with these faulty and unachievable views, and work to forge new and more practical ideals that apply in this unpredictable world that will allow our society to continue to thrive into the future. Although Shames does a good job describing this problem, he could go much deeper by either offering or describing a probable solution or even what the consequences could be if we do not make a change.

Smith, Adam. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Edwin Cannan, ed. 1904. Library of Economics and Liberty. Retrieved October 26, 2014 from the World Wide Web: http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html

Likewise and the topic of this paper Solomon provides a thorough discussion of the problems of the present global economy. In his essay Solomon provides three mind-wrenching questions that questions and supports his methods of economic reform. The first question of “is it possible to engage in the pursuit of wealth without succumbing to greed and selfishness?” brings the topic of morality when it comes to wealth (108). Sallie McFague brings an argument stating that human beings are people filled with emotions of self-interest and will do whatever it takes to become wealthy. In the grand scheme of things this innate self-interest that is within people makes it extremely tough for countries to follow certain Jewish laws that he provided. McFague’s solution of moving towards an ecological economic system makes it tough on countries as well because it will force them to forget about their self-interest and learn to understand that they are dependent upon each other. McFague states, “ecological economics claims we

According to Deirdre McCloskey, why do some of the traditional explanations for Western prosperity fail, and what in her view is the major, unique ingredient that accounts for it?

The understanding of the root of material advancement has become a human quest for the key to the secret of wealth and prosperity. Looking for an answer, Jared Diamond searched human histories over the last 13,000 years from the end of the last Ice Age to the twenty-first century. When visiting Papua New Guinea island, he was fascinated by his friend Yali’s question: “why is that you white man developed so much cargo, and we New Guineans have so little?” The question turned out to be “far bigger and complex than it first appeared, it is really about roots of global inequality”. Unlike many who tend to believe that a well-developed society is based on genetics and intelligence, Diamond argues a connection between physical surroundings

One of his major bestselling economic books, “The Affluent Society” written in 1958 deconstructs, and conveys how World War II affected the private and public sector and presses on the unacceptable gap between them. Gallibrath examines many economic topics throughout “The Affluent Society” including production, consumption, inflation, social balance and introduces many new theories and ideas to audience in the past.

“...those new books about economic history, one of those books explaining how the West(meaning Europe and North America after its conquest and settlement by Europeans) got rich: the West got rich not from the free(free-- in this case meaning got-for-nothing) and then undervalued labour, for generations, of the people like me you see walking around...etc” (Kincaid, 9).

The novella "The Dead" by James Joyce tells the tale of early twentieth century upper class society in the Irish city of Dublin. The story tells of the characters' entrapment, and the tragic lives they lead, hiding behind the conventions of their society. Joyce uses the symbolism to draw a parallel between the natural way in which the snow covers the land and the way in which the characters use their culture unnatural to cover reality. This story comes together, not only to tell of the individual tragedy of these peoples lives, but to tell the tragic story of all of Ireland, as it's true problems become obscured in so many ways.

Capitalism appears to satisfy the ‘need’ for power and acquisition above all else, and the evidence is seen in the growth of global wealth, which certainly does not amount to equal wealth. The

What makes a nation wealthy? Answering this basic question may not be as simple as it seems. Because we must first analyze what “wealth” is. This essay is going to cover Adam Smith and Karl Marx’s work and their views how the society works and how wealth is created. It is going to highlight the theory of “Division of labour” and how it shaped the social relations. Lastly Robert Heilbroner’s concept of “drive for capital” will be discussed and how it produces wealth and misery to analyze Sinclair’s insights into the nature of industrial life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.