Social Darwinsim and a Three Legged Stool

             Social Darwinism & A Three Legged Stool
             In my room, there lives a spider that I watched crawl in from the cracks of the wall and, within a mere day, it constructed the most beautiful web where once there had only been a barred window. I marveled at the spider's perseverance and its determination to make something miraculous out of almost nothing. The spider had built its own home by relying on its own resources that lay within its reach. The spider had come into the room with nothing, but chose to build a web in a location where it felt it would have the greatest amount of success at catching its food. In effect, the spider had put all of its eggs into one basket, relying on that one web to procure what it desired. As I pondered over that thought, the name "Andrew Carnegie" came to mind, for did he not say "Put all your eggs in one basket – and watch that basket!"? (Baker 45) This web was an investment; however, I immediately scoffed at the idea that every creature could secure his own fortune by starting off poor, applying the values of hard work, determination, and a little luck. This was Carnegie's formula for success. With these values firmly in place, an individual could possibly rise above their poverty and obtain honorable trades, make secure investments, and even corner markets. This was the fullness of the American Dream . I had tried Carnegie's formula for success and, in the end, had failed miserably at obtaining anything more than a trade in which I could secure a modest income. Had I become the victim of Social Darwinism? Was I the individual who is weakest and loses in the end? Like Carnegie, I had embraced the idea of Social Darwinism because I could not imagine a society where everyone would win.
             I immigrated from Edinburgh, Scotland when I was but fifteen years of age to the industrial city of Pittsburgh in 1879. I had few possessions as to the material thi...

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Social Darwinsim and a Three Legged Stool. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 13:42, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/9127.html