The Theory Of The Leisure Class Essay

Even if the 1920’s seem affluent and prosperous on the surface, the realities of time contradicted such notions; in fact, it can be clearly stated that this decade should not be judged as an era of wealth. Inequality was rampant in society at this time, especially when it comes to stark income differences between the upper, middle and lower classes. While it can be said that the upper classes, who make up a mere 1% of the population enjoyed most of these materialistic luxuries, the vast majority of the American population was barely getting by.

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.

Between the time period of 1840 and 1860, slavery played an influential and pivotal role in the development of a new southern lifestyle. In the struggle for dominance in America, slavery was the South’s stronghold and the underlying cause in much of their motives for many of the economic instigations along with the affirmative political actions. By dominating the everyday southerner’s life, slavery also dominated the economic and political aspects of life during the height of the slavery period. By the 1840’s the Southern economy had become almost entirely slave and and agriculturally dependent. Without the dependence of slaves in the south, a person was to remain landless, poverty stricken or struggling to sustain life through the means

Accurately established by many historians, the capitalists who shaped post-Civil War industrial America were regarded as corrupt “robber barons”. In a society in which there was a severe imbalance in the dynamics of the economy, these selfish individuals viewed this as an opportunity to advance in their financial status. Thus, they acquired fortunes for themselves while purposely overseeing the struggles of the people around them. Presented in Document A, “as liveried carriage appear; so do barefooted children”, proved to be a true description of life during the 19th century. In hopes of rebuilding America, the capitalists’ hunger for wealth only widened the gap between the rich and poor.

This historical study will define the increased economy prosperity of the Gilded Age and the development of suburban planning in the American middle classes. During the late 19th century, the massive growth of the American economy was dominantly formed in urban industrial centers, yet the wealth generated from the upper and middle classes allowed them to move out into rural areas near major cities. More so, the development of public transportation, such a trolleys and trains, helped the middle classes to plan suburban housing to escape the overpopulation and poverty of urban areas. Economic growth inspired the idea of the “suburbs” as a convenient residential area for the middle classes that sought greater individualism, which separated them from the masses of working-class urbanites. The expansion of American suburbs defines the growth of the administrative/managerial classes that was able to utilize public transportation to shift urban residential quarters to semi-rural neighborhoods at the fringes of American cities. Also, the issue of urban pollution was major incentive for the middle classes to seek out semi-rural residencies to escape the city. In essence, a historical analysis of the increased economic prosperity of the Gilded Age and the development of suburbs for the American middle classes will be defined in this study.

The effects leaching off of industrialization between 1865 and 1900 has many divided outcomes of prosperous pushes forward as well as hefty setbacks. During this time was the drive toward the second industrial revolution, this brought in many more immigrants to the workforce, reconstruction of the south but also the rise of money hungry industry owners (Doc. 4), turning into a movement for power being returned the people (Doc. 5). These little causes have brought much effect in the nation as it progressed it towards the future society and culture.

“It’s not what you own its what people think you own” (Ewen 183). Consumerism is fueling today’s “middle class”. Stewart Ewen’s “Chosen People” goes into detail about the rise of the materialistic middle class.

When it comes to the thesis, it quite obvious that the author utilizes a host of examples and evidences which can provide the readers with a powerful thesis. First, the author contrast the working hours of Americans with Europeans and Germans, although people may say that they are more likely to choose leisure rather than great wealth, people always pursue the wealth by working hard, since Americans believe that occupations and the labor exerted in the occupations are the significant elements of a person (Clausen 120-1). Therefore, the author points out the different opinions from the four famous authorities, some believe that people should work in order to get the food while others always put their attentions on the habits rather than the official work; it brings a idea that people can prove their worth not by their accomplishes but by long hours (Clausen 121).

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, America increased drastically in industrialization, consumerism, and urbanization. With these increases a “Mass Consumerism” movement began and effected the middle class more than others. From the increase in consumerism, Thorstein Veblen introduced a new phrase called conspicuous consumption. This was indicated towards wealthy Americans that the best way to prove superiority is to show off their wealth. This negatively effected Americans and their perception on others. With the massive increase in industrialization and urbanization, Americans living in poverty and with poor jobs were mostly effected negatively than others. In Jacob Riis’s book, How the Other Half Lives, and Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, it opened the eyes of Americans not living and working in these conditions. After the government and American people witness the horror some citizens must deal with, changes will occur and improve conditions.

Wealth in the 1920’s was a topic when it came to societal beliefs. A lot of people started becoming rich and famous, and the economy had a 42% increase (Amadeo). In the novel, The Great Gatsby, they show what wealth was like during this time. When Nick says, “I lived at West Egg, the-well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them” (Fitzgerald 5). This is a small example of how the United States is a wealthy place where people worked hard to earn their money, or, they were born into their family already rich.

Urbanization, Industrialization, and Social Change: Have some idea of the changes in transportation, communication, technology, and law that spurred the rise of an urbanized and industrialized capitalist economy in the Northeast and upper Midwest in the first decades of the 19th century. How did industrialization and the factory system change the location and nature of work? What were some differences between “pre-modern” and “modern” work culture? How did employers and reformers attempt to impose new kinds of social power over the workforce? How did these economic changes correlate with changes in political citizenship and public identity in the industrial city? In what ways did they begin to alter the lived nature of time and space? How did they change the relationship between work and leisure? Be prepared to think about the relationship between these economic, social, and political changes and the kinds of recreational behavior observed in prize fighters, harness racers, and other self-defined sportsmen in the early nineteenth century. How did the emergence of an inexpensive popular press change the relationship between participants and

The Gilded Age, was a brief period in American history, from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s, where there was a rapid economic growth as the industry expanded, generating groundbreaking opportunities for individuals. At its triumph peak, society was perceived from the outside that the new era of Americans was prosperous, however, conspicuous consumption and luxury masked corruption and the fact that a majority of people were suffering. Like gilded gold, the outside looks exemplary, but much like the Gilded Age, the inside contrasted dramatically. Besides the wide amount of success in this era, society was unbalanced with hierarchy, with a competition of the common people and successful business, as laborers fought for recognition and

History is interpreted in different ways. In Howard Zinn’s “People’s history of the Unites States”, his views of the Government playing into the hands of the wealthy is one that shows the truth of how life was really like during the turn of the 19th century. At the end of the Reconstruction, the country took the next step in the industrial ladder. At this time, many fortunes are made with the help of the immigrants and the corruption of the government. People like J.P. Morgan sold defective guns during the Civil War and with the help of the government, a “federal judge upheld the deal as the fulfillment of a valid legal contract (Zinn 255)”. The railroad became a big staple in the American country was only possible with the “blood, sweat, politics and thievery (Zinn 254)”, as the wealthy few, contracted cheap labor and gave bribes in Washington to get the land they needed to further expend the railroad. The government an establishment for the people, ignored the suffrage of the poor and stood there as the country began to monopolize under the grasp of the few elites. In the other end “A History of the American People” by Paul Johnson depicts the acts of the Gilded Age as a fundamental foothold in the United States. For Johnson, the rapid growth of the country is thanks to the few who rose from the rest, to establish the core of the economy. The government was a key player in the involvement of the railroad and in Johnson’s argument he says “The railroads were subsidized and legally privileged (Johnson 533)”. He explains the vast help of the government, toward the wealthy as a crucial step in accomplishing the impossible. In addition the article “What Social Classes Owe to Each Other (1883)” by William Graham Sumner argues that the few who managed to break through the barrier of the lower class was not with the help of others or the government, but by their own efforts and cleverness that got them to

Social lives start and finish with leisure activity. Leisure activity starts social lives because it generates the time that can be spent to engage in recreational time or leisure time. Furthermore, an individual’s activity does not have to be a group activity it can be a solo activity because when the individual is not with friends or families the activity that their doing will be because of a certain socio-cultural factor. Therefore, an individual will workout because of the gender identity and the double bind of masculinity. The reason for this is because most men will workout to change their appearance to become more masculine and powerful but are not suppose to care about their appearance.

At the beginning of this course leisure was a topic I did not give much thought to and I felt like I did not have the time to spare to put much thought into. To me, all leisure meant was having free time to do whatever it is that I wanted to do. But after analyzing my life I noticed that I had surrounded my life with solely work and school and my “free time” was anytime I spent watching television and anytime I slept. However, after taking this course I learned that leisure meant more much than that. Now leisure to me means, as Richard Kraus states, leisure is “time which is not devoted to work or work-connected responsibilities or to other forms of discretionary or unobligated time,” (Olson et al., 2003, 12). The “time” in which Kraus