Preview

Essay Compare And Contrast Kuyper And Absolutism

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1203 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay Compare And Contrast Kuyper And Absolutism
Over the years, generations have shared different perspectives on the idea of wealth and property. People have discussed the topic several times to explain what is right and wrong. Many agreed on the importance of wealth, while others viewed wealth as a source of evil. The population of Europe, when the Enlightenment occurred, often associated wealth with power. Therefore, the lower classes did not own any power over the government due to their lack of wealth. As the age of Enlightenment refreshed the way people thought, change was noticeable in Europe; however, people were still struggling to solve the problem that the ancient regime left behind. Many great thinkers, philosopher, and politicians were trying to define the problem and explain so people could adjust and understand each other; however, many of the philosopher, theologians did not agree on the results of the Enlightenment. Abraham Kuyper, the Dutch politician and theologian, and Russell H. Conwell, the American Baptist minister and writer, both spent a great amount of time defining and explaining the idea of wealth, poverty, and property for society. Whereas, Kuyper criticizes socialism and argues the …show more content…
The reason why their perspective are different is explainable based on the environment they embrace. The outcomes of the French Revolution influenced Kuyper into a direction where he argues if the revolution was useless, whereas Conwell did not have a direct connection to the outcomes of the French Revolution due the geographical distance. Therefore, both Kuyper and Conwell have experienced differences in the outcomes of the French Revolution, which explains the contrast in their beliefs and perspectives. This does not necessarily mean that one is them is wrong or right, but they certainly have believes and values that they share, and ones that are differ from each

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    3. Indicate how industrialists and their intellectual and religious supporters attempted to explain and justify great wealth, and increasing class division through natural law and the Gospel of Wealth.…

    • 314 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Absolutism is the acceptance of, or belief in absolute principles in political, philosophical, ethical, or theological matters. French absolutism started with Louis XIV and Russian absolutism started with Peter the Great. Louis XIV ruled from 1643-1714 and Peter the Great ruled from 1699-1725. In French absolutism, the rule of absolute monarchs was not all embracing because they lacked the financial and military resources, and the technology to make it so. France and Russia are alike in absolutism that they both sought to control religion and that they got the rich out of paying taxes. They are different in that Louis XIV wasn’t successful in wars, but Peter the Great was.…

    • 942 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    While a large group of individuals amassed incredible wealth during the Gilded Age, there existed an even more elite group consisting of individuals that rank among the richest men in history. It included John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Jay Gould, James Fisk, and J.P. Morgan. To understand their later deeds, one must understand the strikingly similar environments in which these men came of age. For example, all of the aforementioned men were born in the Northeast during the Second Great Awakening, an environment in which principles such as self-discipline, frugality and efficiency were highly valued. Preachers of the time period endorsed the Calvinist view that “where you find the most religion, you find the most worldly prosperity”, while poverty was considered a condition…

    • 2538 Words
    • 73 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    All men are created equal – that is, unless you subscribe to Andrew Carnegies ideas put forth in the 1889 essay “The Gospel of Wealth.” Carnegie (2010) wrote that some people are “unworthy” while others are “the highest type of man, the best and most valuable of all that humanity has yet accomplished” (p. 395). Carnegie’s (2010) belief in social Darwinism and “survival of the fittest” (p. 393) seemed to convince him that because he had achieved wealth, he was the most fit or qualified to determine the best distribution for it. However, Carnegie’s ideas on wealth distribution do not address many societal problems, especially poverty. Poverty was better addressed by John Galbraith (2010), Harvard economics professor and John F. Kennedy advisor, who had differing views on wealth distribution (pp. 405-415). Because Galbraith had a more compassionate view toward all people, he would likely criticize Carnegie’s ideas on distribution of wealth and modify Carnegie’s investments in the public sector. Galbraith’s overall view was also more true to the gospel than Carnegie’s views as expressed in “The Gospel of Wealth.”…

    • 1928 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    These questions helped me define terms such as philosophe, natural law and social sciences. This background information gave me a general understanding of the question I was to focus on during my analyzation of the ideas of John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, and Mary Wollstonecraft. After completing the questions coinciding with each document, I was ready to write my essay on what the main idea was of the philosophers during the Enlightenment Period. As a result, I learned that the main idea of the Enlightenment Philosophers was that; for society to function it’s best, individual freedom must be recognized. I learned that John Locke believed in the dangers of a government that has too much power. I learned that Voltaire believed that a government should use it’s powers to promote tolerance of other religions. I also learned that Adam Smith had greater confidence in the individual- rather than the government- when making economic decisions. Finally, I learned that Mary Wollstonecraft in the necessity of education and equal opportunities for…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the gilded ages dating back to the nineteenth century both Andrew Carnegie and Henry George were known as very influential men of their time both striving towards the common goal of deflating poverty in hopes to diminish it as a whole. Though both Andrew and Henry shared a similar feat they had very different approaches and ideas of methodizing the overall goal. Carnegie was a shrewes businessman who viewed it to be acceptable for very rich and very poor people to co-exist as long as the rich provided that their surpluses aspired the community with parks or libraries for example to better themselves known as the "lasting good," and the rich would therefor better society rather than die rich men. On the other hand, George felt that is wasn't the fact that Americans weren't given enough that was causing poverty but rather the rate of poverty by the misuse of land for example that was the cause. Capital, a result of labor, and used then by labor to assist in further production has led to the misuse of resources as well. So basically George stated that if those who owned land used it's recourses to provide places for poverty stricken people povery in turn would diminish itself.…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    During the Enlightenment, many western political and economic philosophers attempted to describe the transition of mankind towards modernity. Specifically, Edmund Burke (1729-1797) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) were both heavily influenced by the American Revolution (1775-1783) and French Revolution (1789-1799), which compelled each to write about the existence of inequalities in society and transformations that aim to address these inequalities. Burke and Rousseau differed in their interpretations of why inequalities exist within society and had diverging views on radical transformation within society. These differences stem from their conflicting ideology pertaining to the role of the government, private property, liberty and notions of sovereignty. It is imperative to discuss each philosopher’s competing ideological framework of inequality and analyze each philosopher’s assessment regarding the desirability of radical transformation.…

    • 1448 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edwards was a Puritan who, throughout his years at college, challenged the ideas of each religion.6 In his sermon, “Christian Knowledge”, Edwards stated that “every Christian should make a business of endeavoring to grow in knowledge in divinity”.7 He argued that ministers should not be the only person allowed to acquire knowledge from the bible and it should be a right given to everyone. He also said that “if men have no knowledge of these things, the faculty of reason in them will be wholly in vain”.7 Edwards preached that without knowledge, people would not be able to make decisions for themselves and they would have to rely on others to make the decisions for them. Therefore, the right of knowledge should be given to everyone and not just the divine and ministers. Another clergy who preached to the masses the importance of a republic was George Whitefield. Whitefield was an English Anglican priest who had an important role in the spread of the Great Awakening in the colonies.8 In his sermon, “The Extent and Reasonableness of Self-Denial”, Whitefield stated that “we must deny ourselves the pleasurable indulgences and the self-enjoyment of riches”.8 Instead, Whitefield argues that the rich take into account the needs of others. Ideas of equality of power and the need to care for all people are evident later in the Preamble to the…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the mid 15th century to the early 18th century almost half of Europe’s total population could be considered poor and destitute. The attitudes of the clergy and the attitudes of the socially elite toward these people varied from pity to disgust, and their proposed solution to these problems differed. Some suggested helping all of the poor by giving them alms, some warned others to be careful of whom the money was given to and some people believed that being poor was a voluntary decision and if they wanted to get out of that situation, they do so without the help of others. In particular the clergy supported alms giving, government officials and the nobility advocated controlled giving, and some of the middle class were suspicious and judgmental and wanted the poor to work.…

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Enlightenment, which largely took place in Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, was an intellectual movement that focused on the development of reason and secularism, rather than spirituality. As a result, it directly influenced political and economic policy, especially within the British colonies. One very well-known philosopher was, John Locke; he argued the ideas of natural rights, social contract, and revolution. At their essence, these three concepts proved to be the philosophical basis for the colonies’ protest movement against imperial British policy. Natural rights are defined by a specific group of entitlements, such as freedom, privacy, and life, which are granted to every human being despite them not being written in law.…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Andrew Carnegie, born in Scotland, came to the United States in 1848. Here he started with nothing and turned himself into a self-made man. He was in fact, one of the richest men if this era. In 1889 he wrote “The Gospel of Wealth”. In this essay he discusses philanthropy and explains that with money also comes responsibility. He stated that obedience [to the Gospel of Wealth] will one day solve the problem of the rich and poor, and will bring “Peace on earth, among men good will.” I agree with this statement because the “Gospel of Wealth” claims that everyone is free to make as much money as they can, however, they should not leave it to their heirs and should use it to help mankind.…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wealth is powerful when it is obtained by someone, but even more powerful when it is not. When people are striving for riches they tend to put that need above everything else. People will go through all sorts of difficulties and obstacles to make it in life. Striving for wealth and power is something that brings both positive and negative results. During the colonial period the development of the Virginia and Massachusetts colonies was greatly influenced by the effects of the search for riches and power. Each area had common basic interests, but the ways in which they went about attaining these goals were in most views different. Prosperity was the major goal of everyone, but each settlement had its"˜ own idea of the kind of prosperity it wanted and the way in which it was to be accomplished.…

    • 2407 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Praise of Illiteracy

    • 1882 Words
    • 8 Pages

    "But" you will object, "what about the Enlightenment?" No need to tell me! Social distress rests not only on the ruler’s material…

    • 1882 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A lot of people have different ideas of how our nation will succeed. One big idea that people continue to argue about is how our economy should be played out. It's either a good idea to give to the poor to make things fair, or keep your money to yourselves, or maybe it's a good idea to put a cap on the population so we don't have to give to the poor. I believe that we shouldn’t give to the poor because they will use our givings in a negative way, which would make us regret doing goods. Some people such as William Hogarth support the idea of not giving to the poor because they will use their money on something that they shouldn't be. William Hogarth painted a picture which was called "Gin Lane" to support his ideas. Some people such as Thomas Malthus and Garrett Hardin think that the population is too high to maintain a well kept economy.…

    • 2126 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the mid 15th century to the early 18th century almost half of Europe’s total population could be considered poor and destitute. The attitudes of the clergy and the attitudes of the socially elite toward these people varied from pity to disgust, and their proposed solution to these problems differed. Some suggested helping all of the poor by giving them alms, some warned others to be careful of whom the money was given to and some people believed that being poor was a voluntary decision and if they wanted to get out of that situation, they do so without the help of others. In particular the clergy supported alms giving, government officials and the nobility advocated controlled giving, and some of the middle class were suspicious and judgmental and wanted the poor to work.…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays