Time period: The Gilded Age

The disease: Unequal Distribution of Wealth

The symptom: Extreme Class Division

The solution: Progressive Humanitarianism

 

The Gilded Age experienced unprecidented economic growth.  This growth translated into an increasingly elite class of wealth-holders who amassed more wealth than most citizens of the nation, combined.  Labor conditions were unbearable for the poor, and after a series of violent labor uprisings awareness of labor's discontent grew among industrialists.  Something had to be done to quell the violence before it became a legitimate threat to the nation's economy.

Systemic economic inequality eventually received attention from a group of progressive thinkers who argued that social reform was the prescriptive action needed to appease impoverished workers.  In 1883, William Graham Sumner promoted the necessity to acknowledge the dismal conditions of the poor, and conceptualized a social contract, one which established obligations from wealth-holders to help the poor, and established expectations from the poor laborers as well.

Common questions during the period pondered social welfare.  Should spare change be given to a pauper? is one obligated to donate money to charity? should donated money support housing for unwed mothers? and the largest most important question, was the government was obligated to offer assistance to the economically destitute masses?  The deplorable conditions of the poor weighed on the minds of many who became increasingly socially aware.  The anxiety of the wealthy betrayed symptoms of an extremely unbalanced socioeconomic order.

Sumner claimed he could not identify a cogent definition to describe a poor man.  However, he did offer his interpretation of a pauper.  Sumner believed that a pauper is someone who is unable to earn a living, whose power to generate enough income fell well below the level necessary for basic survival.  Sumner’s definition implies there were plenty of poor laborers willing to work, but that inconsistent employment and wage stagnation had eroded their ability to purchase consumable goods and services. 

Looking for a solution to remedy the economic malaise of laborers, Sumner developed a remedy.  He was convinced that a harmonious society required the economic cooperation of industry, and the production capacity from labor, which in turn could benefit the entire country, economically.  For Sumner, the key to overall economic success, was for wealth-holders to help the economically disadvantaged improve their working and living conditions.  If one or both actors did not participate in social reform the country could potentially become unproductive and fall into an economic depression.  Sumner's call to action was illustrated in simple terms.  If you obtain wealth you are obligated assist others, and if you could not obtain wealth, it was the duty of others to help support you. 

Sumner promoted a society of economic reciprocity.  This meant a sense of duty was directed at wealthy individuals to provide for the less fortunate, while in the spirit of mutuality the downtrodden laborers who received assistance were expected to remain productive participants of a consumerist society.  The establishment of a social contract between capital and labor was the only way the country could mend the great economic class divide, and by raising the standard of living for poor workers, it would in turn allow consumption of products that wealthy industrialists produced. 

Works Cited

Johnson, Michael P. Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents. 5th ed. Vol. 2. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. Document 18-2 William Graham Sumner on Social Obligations. 45-48. Print.