36 Chapter 2
The Gospelthereforeassignedmultimillionairesthe taskof
returning[sic]theirsurpluswealthto the massof theirfellowsin the formsbestcalculat-
ed to do themlastinggood.[Rememberthis “return” for later;boldfaceadded.–S.H.]...
the millionairewill be but a trusteefor the poor,intrustedfor a seasonwitha greatpartof
the increasedwealthof the community,but administeringit for the communityfar better
thanit couldor wouldhavedonefor itself.Hencethe treatiseconcluded,“Themanwhodiesrichthusdiesdisgraced.”^91 Guess
what—whenCarnegiedied,he still had twenty-threemilliondollarsleft over.^92
Carnegiehadnumerousfollowersin thiscreed.JamesJ. Couzens(1872–1936),the
politicianand FordMotorCompanyvice-presidentwhofirstsuggestedto the company’s
founderthathe raiseemployeewagesto fivedollarsper day,likewiseproclaimsthata
millionairedoesnot ownhis fortune,but that his fortuneis merelya publicexchequerhe
holdsfor society.^93 Couzenstoldhis daughterMadeleinethattheirfamily’s money
“doesn’t belongto us.... It’s a trust.”^94 AndCarnegie’s wordsare in accordwiththoseof
a manwhois calleda socialDarwinistas oftenas Carnegiehimself—AdolfHitler.In his
famousfirstbook,MeinKampf, Hitlerwrotethatour moralestimateof a “manmustbe
basedon the mannerin whichhe fulfillsthe taskentrustedhimby the community.” His
“duty” is
toreturnto the nationalcommunitywithhonestindustrywhatit has givenhim.[Why
doesthis soundso familiar?–S.H.]...
Thepresentera... seesmaterialrewardthe expressionof a man’s worthandthereby
shattersthe foundationfor the noblestequalitythattherecan be. For equalitydoesnot
rest and nevercan rest on the achievementsof individualsin themselves,but it is possible
in the formin whicheveryonefulfillshis specialobligations.[boldfaceadded].^95HistorianJamesTruslowAdamsconcurs.To him,multimillionaireswhoproducelarge
endowmentsare not generous,for they“merelyreturn, not seldomunwisely,a partof
theirwealthto thatsocietywithoutwhichtheycouldnot havemadeit, andwhichtoo
oftentheyhaveplunderedin the making”^96 (boldfacemine).
To my dismay,CalvinCoolidgesomewhatagrees—“It is recognizedthatin timeof
peacethatthe publicmaytakewhatit mayneedof privatepropertyfor the general
welfare,... andthe rightto ownpropertycarrieswithit the dutyof usingit for the
welfareof our fellowman.” An industrialist“mustuse his propertyfor the generalgood
or the veryrightto holdprivatepropertyis lost.”^97
Of course,thereis a sharedassumptionamongCarnegie,TruslowAdams,and Hitler.
It is that a multimillionairedeservesto live onlyas far as he renounceshis timeand labor
for the socialcollective.Thatis whyCarnegieandHitlerspokeof philanthropyas a
millionaire’s methodof “returning” wealthto the “community.” Theyignorethatthe
millionairehad alreadygivento his customersthe productfor whichtheypaidhim,and
henceanythingelsehe “gave” to otherswasactuallysomethingextra.Thissharedas-
sumptionof Carnegie’s and Hitler’s is nevercriticizedas socialDarwinism.Indeed,pro-
regulationgovernistswhofrequentlydeploythe socialDarwinismepithetlargelyconcur
withCarnegieand Hitleron this issue.
Additionally,Carnegie’sGospelpraisedthe estatetax as “salutary.” Thissamework
furtherdelivereda strangepointabouttax-fundedlibraries.RecallfromBookOnethat
Carnegieprivatelyfinancedthe constructionof a municipality-ownedlibraryin lower-
crustneighborhoods.InGospel, Carnegieaddsthatanyothermillionairewhofinances
suchlibraryconstructionshouldensurethatthislibrary’s maintenanceshouldnot be
financedthroughprivatecontributions.Suchmaintenance,Carnegieinstructs,shouldbe
financedby nothingexceptfor taxesexactedfromthatneighborhood’s low-incomeresi-
dents.^98 The Scottish-bornindustrialistassureshis readersthat this taxationwill engender