Post by dacui38 on Nov 16, 2011 22:55:31 GMT -5
The Puritans were one of the first groups of settlers in early America, and their way of life helped shape the young country, eventually transforming into the American Way. However, there was another force at work in America that would influence America Way to a greater degree: Capitalism. Sacvan Bercovitch analyzes the Puritans in The Ritual of Consensus, stating that the sense of Capitalism was already present in Puritans, “In the first ships…the spirit of capitalism…was present there….The Puritans were as eager as any other group of emigrants for land and gain” (32). Bercovitch cites Carl Degler, a noted historian who also agrees that one of the ideals the Puritans brought was capitalism itself. In the first section of his well-known book Out of Our Past titled Capitalism Came in the First Ships, Degler explains how the abundance of land encouraged private ownership of material, as settlers were able to own land, something hard to obtain in Europe, “land was available to an extent that would appear only fabulous to land-starved Europeans” (Degler 2).
Despite the self-interest that emerged due to Capitalism, the Puritanism helped balance that avarice. Self-gain was certainly important, but so was working hard and contributing to the community. Those who succeeded due to Capitalism should practice philanthropy and help those in need. Puritans were fearful of sin, which included the avarice and gluttony of Capitalism and this behavior helped mitigate the selfish affects of this economic system. Over time, the Puritan way of life would deteriorate and assimilate into the American Way.
With Capitalism left unchecked, the system would become twisted with people focusing only on economic self-interest. Throughout history, capitalism has brought misfortunes, especially during the Second Industrial Revolution when the working class citizens who toiled in mills were oppressed by rich entrepreneurs in possession of capital. This is the example of how the aristocracy, something America hated, was able to benefit economically from the hard work of middle class citizens because the rich owned the means of production and cared only for their own economic benefit.
Tony Hoagland describes present day Capitalism as destroying the American Way due to citizens abandoning other people and values in order to achieve economic prosperity in his poem America. When stabbed, the narrator’s father bleeds money, “it was not blood but money that gushed out of him, bright green hundred-dollar bills spilling from his wounds”. Blood, which is pure has been replaced by hundred-dollar bills, the symbol of Capitalism, showing the degree Capitalism has affected the lives of Americans and how it is money, not blood, that keeps us alive. Due to the influence of capitalism, our own economic prosperity takes precedence over the well being of others and Hoagland describes it as, “[watching] rivers of bright merchandise run past…floating in your pleasure…even while others are drowning underneath you”. The self-interest of Capitalism leads to the exploitation of less capable members of society by wealthy people, thus creating material inequality, “Owners of capital…keep large segments of the population in an economically vulnerable and dependent position” (What’s so Bad about Capitalism? 6). There is a profit-maximizing competition, and often results in the poorer members of society suffering. Capitalism helps the rich achieve even greater economic success at the expense of poorer and less capable workers who are exploited.
The Puritans helped restrain the harms of Capitalism before, and reform is needed to once again neutralize the economic self-interest of Capitalism that is hurting others. Hardworking and philanthropic individuals in a benevolent nation similar to the Puritan society would reform Capitalism. This would illuminate the true and better American Way.
600 Words
www.ssc.wisc.edu/~wright/Published%20writing/CHAPTER%202--Whats%20so%20bad%20--%20version%201.1.pdf
Degler, Carl N. "Capitalism Came in the First Ships." Out of Our Past: the Forces That Shaped Modern America. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Harper & Row, 1984. Print.
Despite the self-interest that emerged due to Capitalism, the Puritanism helped balance that avarice. Self-gain was certainly important, but so was working hard and contributing to the community. Those who succeeded due to Capitalism should practice philanthropy and help those in need. Puritans were fearful of sin, which included the avarice and gluttony of Capitalism and this behavior helped mitigate the selfish affects of this economic system. Over time, the Puritan way of life would deteriorate and assimilate into the American Way.
With Capitalism left unchecked, the system would become twisted with people focusing only on economic self-interest. Throughout history, capitalism has brought misfortunes, especially during the Second Industrial Revolution when the working class citizens who toiled in mills were oppressed by rich entrepreneurs in possession of capital. This is the example of how the aristocracy, something America hated, was able to benefit economically from the hard work of middle class citizens because the rich owned the means of production and cared only for their own economic benefit.
Tony Hoagland describes present day Capitalism as destroying the American Way due to citizens abandoning other people and values in order to achieve economic prosperity in his poem America. When stabbed, the narrator’s father bleeds money, “it was not blood but money that gushed out of him, bright green hundred-dollar bills spilling from his wounds”. Blood, which is pure has been replaced by hundred-dollar bills, the symbol of Capitalism, showing the degree Capitalism has affected the lives of Americans and how it is money, not blood, that keeps us alive. Due to the influence of capitalism, our own economic prosperity takes precedence over the well being of others and Hoagland describes it as, “[watching] rivers of bright merchandise run past…floating in your pleasure…even while others are drowning underneath you”. The self-interest of Capitalism leads to the exploitation of less capable members of society by wealthy people, thus creating material inequality, “Owners of capital…keep large segments of the population in an economically vulnerable and dependent position” (What’s so Bad about Capitalism? 6). There is a profit-maximizing competition, and often results in the poorer members of society suffering. Capitalism helps the rich achieve even greater economic success at the expense of poorer and less capable workers who are exploited.
The Puritans helped restrain the harms of Capitalism before, and reform is needed to once again neutralize the economic self-interest of Capitalism that is hurting others. Hardworking and philanthropic individuals in a benevolent nation similar to the Puritan society would reform Capitalism. This would illuminate the true and better American Way.
600 Words
www.ssc.wisc.edu/~wright/Published%20writing/CHAPTER%202--Whats%20so%20bad%20--%20version%201.1.pdf
Degler, Carl N. "Capitalism Came in the First Ships." Out of Our Past: the Forces That Shaped Modern America. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Harper & Row, 1984. Print.