what is the gospel of wealth?

Scottish-American billionaire Andrew Carnegie based his philosophy on the observation that the heirs of large fortunes frequently squandered them in riotous living rather than nurturing and growing them. Even bequeathing one's fortune to charity was no guarantee that it would be used wisely, since there was no guarantee that a charitable organization not under one's direction would use the money in accordance with one's wishes. Carnegie disapproved of charitable giving that merely maintained the poor in their impoverished state, and urged a movement toward the creation of a new mode of giving which would create opportunities for the beneficiaries of the gift to better themselves. As a result, the gift would not be merely consumed, but would be productive of even greater wealth throughout the society.

Carnegie put his philosophy into practice through a program of gifts to endow public libraries, known as 'Carnegie libraries' in cities and towns throughout the United States and the English-speaking world, with the idea that he was thus providing people with the tools to better themselves. In order to ensure that his gifts would not be wasted, he stipulated that the municipality must pass an ordinance establishing a tax to support the library's ongoing operating costs after the initial grant provided the costs for building and equipping the library. After several communities squandered their grants on extravagant buildings, Carnegie established a system of architectural guidelines that mandated simplicity and functionality. When it became obvious that Carnegie could not give away his entire fortune within his lifetime, he established the Carnegie Foundation to continue his program of giving.

Gospel Of Wealth Definition

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I believe these are about as opposite as it can be. The gospel of wealth was purported during the 1980's when "evidence" of one's goodness or religiosity was found in the amount of blessings which God had supposedly bestowed on him/her. The social gospel is the belief that "I am my brother's keeper" and to live by the golden rule to treat others the way you want to be treated.

You mean Carnegie? Well, he tried, but his foundation will fail eventually, imo.

So it happens that people who know how to earn and manage money have the wealth and don't need charity. But beggars do. Same beggars who are either too lazy or just aren't able to earn and thus aren't able to learn to manage it.

Great part of charity always was and will be wasted. And here's I think why...

Doing charitable work is a real work that needs real knowledge and effort. The qualities of a man able to do it is those of a successful business man, who knows how to deal with money. But such men are successful not because of their charity, but because they're busy doing business and therefore cannot manage charities at the same time. So the job is left to those who can't do the job but are doing it just because someone has to.

Honestly, I'm almost against any kind of foundations of charity. Those who need it are better of asking for it themselves, as so it happens those who need it most don't get it in the end anyway.