According to Samuel Smiles, what is the cause of poverty?
Social Psychology (10th Edition)
10th Edition
ISBN:9780134641287
Author:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Publisher:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Chapter1: Introducing Social Psychology
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1RQ1
Related questions
Question
According to Samuel Smiles, what is the cause of poverty?
![Page 2
be correct, then it follows that the highest pa-
triotism and philanthropy consist, not so much
in altering laws and modifying institutions, as in
helping and stimulating men to elevate and im-
It is the savings of individuals which compose
the wealth-in other words, the well-being-
of every nation. On the other hand, it is the
wastefulness of individuals which occasions the
prove themselves by their own free and indepen- impoverishment of states. So that every thrifty
person may be regarded as a public benefactor,
It may be of comparatively little consequence and every thriftless person as a public enemy. ...
... All that is great in man comes of labor–
erything depends upon how he governs himself greatness in art, in literature, in science.
from within. The greatest slave is not he who is Knowledge-“the wing wherewith we fly
to heaven"-is only acquired through labor.
Genius is but a capability of laboring intensely:
it is the power of making great and sustained
efforts. Labor may be a chastisement, but it is
indeed a glorious one. It is worship, duty, praise,
and immortality-for those who labor with the
highest aims and for the purest purposes. . . .
... Of all wretched men, surely the idle are
the most so---those whose life is barren of util-
dent individual action.
how a man is governed from without, whilst ev-
ruled by a despot, great though that evil be, but
he who is the thrall of his own moral ignorance,
selfishness, and vice. ...
Smiles' book Thrift, published in 1875, re-
states and expands on the themes stressed in
Self-Help.
ity, who have nothing to do except to gratify
their senses. Are not such men the most quer-
Every man is bound to do what he can to elevate ulous, miserable, and dissatisfied of all, con-
his social state, and to secure his independ- stantly in a state of ennui [boredom}, alike
useless to themselves and to others-mere
THRIFT
ence. For this purpose he must spare from his
means in order to be independent in his condi-
cumberers [troublesome occupiers] of the earth,
tion. Industry enables men to earn their living; who, when removed, are missed by none, and
whom none regret? Most wretched and ignoble
ien
ess
it should also enable them to learn to live. In-
dependence can only be established by the ex-
ercise of forethought, prudence, frugality, and
self-denial. To be just as well as generous, men
must deny themselves. The essence of generos-
ity is self-sacrifice.
The object of this book is to induce men to
employ their means for worthy purposes, and
not to waste them upon selfish indulgences.
of
ICt.
lot, indeed, is the lot of the idlers.
Who have helped the world onward so much
as the workers; men who have had to work from
necessity or from choice? All that we call prog-
ress-civilization, well-being, and prosperity-
depends upon industry, diligently applied-from
the culture of a barley-stalk to the construction of
a steamship; from the stitching of a collar to the
Many enemies have to be encountered in sculpturing of "the statue that enchants the world."
All useful and beautiful thoughts, in like
manner, are the issue of labor, of study, of obser-
vation, of research, of diligent elaboration. . . .
By the working-man we do not mean merely
which show that one of the best methods of the man who labors with his muscles and sinews.
A horse can do this. But he is pre-eminently the
working-man who works with his brain also,
and whose whole physical system is under the
influence of his higher faculties. The man who
paints a picture, who writes a book, who makes
a law, who creates a poem, is a working-man
in
ich
in-
ift-
ich
di-
et-
accomplishing this object. There are idleness,
thoughtlessness, vanity, vice, intemperance. The
last is the worst enemy of all. Numerous cases
are cited in the course of the following book,
in-
le-
се.
ial
ut
abating the curse of Drink is to induce old and
young to practice the virtue of Thrift. . .
nd
nd
ily
ne
ife
Samuel Smiles, Thrift (New York: A. L. Burt, n.d.), pp. 6,
14, 18, 21.
'W](/v2/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.bartleby.com%2Fqna-images%2Fquestion%2Fea3dd567-7be8-4aac-be4e-72088740403d%2Fcdd4e6ae-e053-4b05-9e15-8e5d9e0fcafd%2Fybv7e4_processed.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
Transcribed Image Text:Page 2
be correct, then it follows that the highest pa-
triotism and philanthropy consist, not so much
in altering laws and modifying institutions, as in
helping and stimulating men to elevate and im-
It is the savings of individuals which compose
the wealth-in other words, the well-being-
of every nation. On the other hand, it is the
wastefulness of individuals which occasions the
prove themselves by their own free and indepen- impoverishment of states. So that every thrifty
person may be regarded as a public benefactor,
It may be of comparatively little consequence and every thriftless person as a public enemy. ...
... All that is great in man comes of labor–
erything depends upon how he governs himself greatness in art, in literature, in science.
from within. The greatest slave is not he who is Knowledge-“the wing wherewith we fly
to heaven"-is only acquired through labor.
Genius is but a capability of laboring intensely:
it is the power of making great and sustained
efforts. Labor may be a chastisement, but it is
indeed a glorious one. It is worship, duty, praise,
and immortality-for those who labor with the
highest aims and for the purest purposes. . . .
... Of all wretched men, surely the idle are
the most so---those whose life is barren of util-
dent individual action.
how a man is governed from without, whilst ev-
ruled by a despot, great though that evil be, but
he who is the thrall of his own moral ignorance,
selfishness, and vice. ...
Smiles' book Thrift, published in 1875, re-
states and expands on the themes stressed in
Self-Help.
ity, who have nothing to do except to gratify
their senses. Are not such men the most quer-
Every man is bound to do what he can to elevate ulous, miserable, and dissatisfied of all, con-
his social state, and to secure his independ- stantly in a state of ennui [boredom}, alike
useless to themselves and to others-mere
THRIFT
ence. For this purpose he must spare from his
means in order to be independent in his condi-
cumberers [troublesome occupiers] of the earth,
tion. Industry enables men to earn their living; who, when removed, are missed by none, and
whom none regret? Most wretched and ignoble
ien
ess
it should also enable them to learn to live. In-
dependence can only be established by the ex-
ercise of forethought, prudence, frugality, and
self-denial. To be just as well as generous, men
must deny themselves. The essence of generos-
ity is self-sacrifice.
The object of this book is to induce men to
employ their means for worthy purposes, and
not to waste them upon selfish indulgences.
of
ICt.
lot, indeed, is the lot of the idlers.
Who have helped the world onward so much
as the workers; men who have had to work from
necessity or from choice? All that we call prog-
ress-civilization, well-being, and prosperity-
depends upon industry, diligently applied-from
the culture of a barley-stalk to the construction of
a steamship; from the stitching of a collar to the
Many enemies have to be encountered in sculpturing of "the statue that enchants the world."
All useful and beautiful thoughts, in like
manner, are the issue of labor, of study, of obser-
vation, of research, of diligent elaboration. . . .
By the working-man we do not mean merely
which show that one of the best methods of the man who labors with his muscles and sinews.
A horse can do this. But he is pre-eminently the
working-man who works with his brain also,
and whose whole physical system is under the
influence of his higher faculties. The man who
paints a picture, who writes a book, who makes
a law, who creates a poem, is a working-man
in
ich
in-
ift-
ich
di-
et-
accomplishing this object. There are idleness,
thoughtlessness, vanity, vice, intemperance. The
last is the worst enemy of all. Numerous cases
are cited in the course of the following book,
in-
le-
се.
ial
ut
abating the curse of Drink is to induce old and
young to practice the virtue of Thrift. . .
nd
nd
ily
ne
ife
Samuel Smiles, Thrift (New York: A. L. Burt, n.d.), pp. 6,
14, 18, 21.
'W
![Page 1
Part Two Modern Europe
Samuel Smiles
be
tr.
SELF-HELP AND THRIFT
in
he
Samuel Smiles (1812–1904) was the most famous messenger of the capitalist ethic
at its best. His father, a Scottish papermaker and general merchant, died early,
leaving his eleven children to fend for themselves. Samuel was apprenticed to
a medical office, in due time becoming a physician in general practice. Turned
journalist, he edited the local newspaper in the English city of Leeds, hoping to
cure the ills of society by promoting the social and intellectual development of the
working classes. Leaving his editorial office, he stepped into railroad management
as a friend of George Stephenson, the inventor of the locomotive and promoter of
railroads, whose biography Smiles wrote in 1857. Two years later he published
Self-Help, which had grown out of a lecture to a small mutual-improvement so-
ciety in which people sought each other's help in bettering their condition. The
book was an instant success and was translated into many languages, including
Japanese. Having retired after twenty-one years as a railway administrator and
prolific author, Smiles suffered a stroke. Recovered, he traveled widely, writing
more books about deserving but often unknown achievers. All along, he prac-
ticed in his personal life the virtues that he preached. The following selections
reveal not only Samuel Smiles' philosophy of life but also the values inspiring the
achievements of capitalism.
pr
de
ho
er
fre
ru
he
se
Т.
E
hi
en
his individual condition. But in all times men
have been prone to believe that their happiness
and well-being were to be secured by means of
institutions rather than by their own conduct.
Hence the value of legislation as an agent in
SELF-HELP
m
tic
"Heaven helps those who help themselves"
is a well-tried maxim, embodying in a small
compass the results of vast human experience.
The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine human advancement has usually been much
growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the
lives of many, it constitutes the true source of
national vigour and strength. Help from with-
out is often enfeebling in its effects, but help reforms can only be effected by means
from within invariably invigorates. Whatever
is done for men or classes, to a certain extent
takes away the stimulus and necessity of doing
for themselves; and where men are subjected to
over-guidance and over-government, the inevi-
table tendency is to render them comparatively
helpless.
Even the best institutions can give a man no
it
de
er
se.
over-estimated. . . . {N]o laws, however strin-
gent, can make the idle industrious, the thrift-
less provident, or the drunken sober. Such
indi-
m
ity
en
vidual action, economy, and self-denial; by bet-
ter habits, rather than by greater rights. . . .
National progress is the sum of individual in-
dustry, energy, and uprightness, as national de-
cay is of individual idleness, selfishness, and vice.
What we are accustomed to decry as great social
evils, will, for the most part, be found to be but
the outgrowth of man's own perverted life; and
though we may endeavour to cut them down and
nc
M
ас
th
las
ar
wl
ab
active help. Perhaps the most they can do is, to
yo
leave him free to develop himself and improve extirpate them by means of Law, they will only
spring up again with fresh luxuriance in some
other form, unless the conditions of personal life
and character are radically improved. If this view
Samuel Smiles, Self-Help; with Illustrations of Conduct and
Perseverance (London: John Murray, 1897), pp. 1-3.
Saj
14](/v2/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.bartleby.com%2Fqna-images%2Fquestion%2Fea3dd567-7be8-4aac-be4e-72088740403d%2Fcdd4e6ae-e053-4b05-9e15-8e5d9e0fcafd%2Fg08qr1_processed.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
Transcribed Image Text:Page 1
Part Two Modern Europe
Samuel Smiles
be
tr.
SELF-HELP AND THRIFT
in
he
Samuel Smiles (1812–1904) was the most famous messenger of the capitalist ethic
at its best. His father, a Scottish papermaker and general merchant, died early,
leaving his eleven children to fend for themselves. Samuel was apprenticed to
a medical office, in due time becoming a physician in general practice. Turned
journalist, he edited the local newspaper in the English city of Leeds, hoping to
cure the ills of society by promoting the social and intellectual development of the
working classes. Leaving his editorial office, he stepped into railroad management
as a friend of George Stephenson, the inventor of the locomotive and promoter of
railroads, whose biography Smiles wrote in 1857. Two years later he published
Self-Help, which had grown out of a lecture to a small mutual-improvement so-
ciety in which people sought each other's help in bettering their condition. The
book was an instant success and was translated into many languages, including
Japanese. Having retired after twenty-one years as a railway administrator and
prolific author, Smiles suffered a stroke. Recovered, he traveled widely, writing
more books about deserving but often unknown achievers. All along, he prac-
ticed in his personal life the virtues that he preached. The following selections
reveal not only Samuel Smiles' philosophy of life but also the values inspiring the
achievements of capitalism.
pr
de
ho
er
fre
ru
he
se
Т.
E
hi
en
his individual condition. But in all times men
have been prone to believe that their happiness
and well-being were to be secured by means of
institutions rather than by their own conduct.
Hence the value of legislation as an agent in
SELF-HELP
m
tic
"Heaven helps those who help themselves"
is a well-tried maxim, embodying in a small
compass the results of vast human experience.
The spirit of self-help is the root of all genuine human advancement has usually been much
growth in the individual; and, exhibited in the
lives of many, it constitutes the true source of
national vigour and strength. Help from with-
out is often enfeebling in its effects, but help reforms can only be effected by means
from within invariably invigorates. Whatever
is done for men or classes, to a certain extent
takes away the stimulus and necessity of doing
for themselves; and where men are subjected to
over-guidance and over-government, the inevi-
table tendency is to render them comparatively
helpless.
Even the best institutions can give a man no
it
de
er
se.
over-estimated. . . . {N]o laws, however strin-
gent, can make the idle industrious, the thrift-
less provident, or the drunken sober. Such
indi-
m
ity
en
vidual action, economy, and self-denial; by bet-
ter habits, rather than by greater rights. . . .
National progress is the sum of individual in-
dustry, energy, and uprightness, as national de-
cay is of individual idleness, selfishness, and vice.
What we are accustomed to decry as great social
evils, will, for the most part, be found to be but
the outgrowth of man's own perverted life; and
though we may endeavour to cut them down and
nc
M
ас
th
las
ar
wl
ab
active help. Perhaps the most they can do is, to
yo
leave him free to develop himself and improve extirpate them by means of Law, they will only
spring up again with fresh luxuriance in some
other form, unless the conditions of personal life
and character are radically improved. If this view
Samuel Smiles, Self-Help; with Illustrations of Conduct and
Perseverance (London: John Murray, 1897), pp. 1-3.
Saj
14
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