Vartan 1

Manea Vartan
Professor Ogbara
English 101
Nov 3, 2015
Annotated Bibliography
Jacobus, Lee A. "Andrew Carnegie: The Gospel of Wealth." A World of Ideas: Essential Readings
for College Writers. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 481-97. Print.

Andrew Carnegies article reflects upon the advantages of having a capitalistic nation and
the importance of philanthropy. He claims that under capitalism, civilization can evolve and
progress can be attained. In other words, ones ability to rise in social hierarchy propels him or her
to work hard and develop ideas that can help humanity. Meanwhile, he stresses the importance of
redistributing wealth among society. In the process, he asserts that wealth should not be passed
down, given to charities or redistributed once the wealthy is deceased.
As opposed to the Karl Marxs essay, this source implies that social inequality is crucial to
mankind. By being subjective, the author is able to demonstrate the importance of capitalism in a
nation. Nevertheless, he remains reliable as the evidence used to prove his point, such as the use of
Social Darwinism, are efficient.
The solution provided by Carnegie as to how the wealth of the rich can be distributed
among the people is one that I could use in my essay. In other words, constructing buildings and
libraries can help level out the income gap as middle class families could potentially benefit from
it. Essentially, Carnegies work has enabled me to better understand positive aspect of money
remaining in the hands of the wealthy.

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Jacobus, Lee A. "Karl Marx: Communist Manifesto." A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for
College Writers. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 453-79. Print.

Karls Marxs Communist Manifesto stresses the importance of communism in a country. It

is said that it allows social equality to persist and for the big corporations to not simply have control
of the economy. Moreover, he claims that under communism, every individual is entitled to earn a
well deserved income; thus every nation must adopt it.
Although the author remains subjective throughout his work, he efficiently demonstrates
how the wealthy who own corporations are able to increase their wealth, while the rest of society
endures hardship. This source is rather different then the other sources as it does not directly talks
about the challenges faced by the middle class but rather the proletariat.
I plan on using Communist Manifesto to show how the middle class is turning into the
proletariat. In other words, just as the proletariat works long hours to earn an unjust wage, the
middle class is obliged to do so in order to maintain the middle class lifestyle that they used to
have. Meanwhile, the big business that are under the control of the rich, continue to increase their
productivity and thus, the income gap continues to grow.

Josten, Stefan D. "Middle-class Consensus, Social Capital and the Fundamental Causes of
Economic Growth and Development." Journal of Economic Development 38.1 (2013): 1-26.
ABI/INFORM Global; ProQuest Asian Business & Reference. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

In this scholarly article, Stefan D. Josten identifies the diverse causes of an expanding
economy. In doing so, he claims that social inequality and in particularly, the middle class, are
determining factors of economic growth. Also, it is said that the middle class forms the economys
social capital, making this group the most valuable to the economy. Furthermore, he thoroughly

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addresses the importance of social capital, or the economic benefit generated by groups and
corporations.
The author of this article organized his work using enumerations which enables the reader to
clearly understand the topic. As opposed to my other sources, this article does not primarily discuss
the middle class as its main focus is economic growth. In other words, my topic is merely a factor
of the articles main point. By consistently sharing the ideas of expert economists and providing
efficient evidence, the author is able to remain credible and rather objective.
Several points made in the article regarding the crucial role of the middle class can be
valuable to my paper. For instance, he insists, using expert opinion, that the middle class is vital to
the expansion of the economy. Hence, my topic is an issue that influences the lives of every
American.

Pressman, Steven. "The Decline of the Middle Class: An International Perspective." Journal of
Economic Issues 41.1 (2007): 181-200. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

Steven Pressmens article examines the shrinking middle class throughout the world in order
to better understand the reasons why America faces such issue. By doing so, he concludes that the
macroeconomic conditions are not to blame for the declining middle class. Instead, fiscal policies
have impacted the middle class. Meanwhile, as opposed to social democratic nations, liberal
welfare regimes have shown to have a smaller middle class.
In order to prove his points, he relies on statistics and charts provided by LIS. Moreover, he
uses the opinions of well-known and influential people. Hence, it can be said that his claims are
well proven and thus, credible. As opposed to the other articles, this source goes more in-depth in
indentifying all the possible causes of a shrinking middle class.

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I could use the comparisons made by the author to better show the causes of a shrinking
middle class. Moreover, the thorough definition of a middle class and the economic conditions
required to have a large middle class can also be used in my paper.

Searcey, Dionne, and Robert Gebeloff. "Middle Class Shrinks Further as More Fall Out Instead of
Climbing Up." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2015. Web. 03 Nov.
2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/26/business/economy/middle-class-shrinksfurther-as-more-fall-out-instead-of-climbing-up.html?_r=0>.

The authors of this news article demonstrate the decline of the middle class over the past
century. Today, middle class families have to work longer in order to obtain enough money as
incomes have stagnated. While the number of middle class households, in particularly married
couples, declines, seniors who are part of this group remain untouched due to Medicare and other
social programs.
By citing diverse individuals such as the executive director of the NELP, President Obama
and current middle class households, the authors are able to demonstrate a sense of objectivity.
Moreover, the use of charts and statistics clearly shows the evolution of the middle class and the
specific groups affected. By sharing the lives of different individuals, the reader is able to see the
diverse effects of a shrinking middle class.
Several facts stated in this article can be included in my writing as they reflect upon the
effects of a declining middle class. This article has enabled me to better understand the
consequences of government policies. Moreover, the income gap between the rich and the poor has
been progressively increasing over the past decade; hence, it is not a new issue.

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Thomas, Katie, Reed Abelson, and Jo Craven McGinty. "New Health Law Frustrates Many in
Middle Class." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 03 Nov.
2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/21/business/new-health-law-frustrates-many-inmiddle-class.html?pagewanted=all>.
In this news article, the inefficiency of social programs to help improve the conditions of
middle class households is emphasized. While the rich have the ability to comfortably spend money
on health care and the poor are supported by the governments health care plan, the middle class
struggles to pay for it. As a result, many middle class families simply do not have a health care
plan. In other words, the authors blame the government policies for the high prices of social
programs that middle class individuals must pay.
The authors rely on real life examples and statistics to prove their point. Moreover, the goal
of this article is to raise awareness about the negative effects of the social programs that were
initially introduced to help Americans. By also stating that the health care program has helped
many low-income families obtain a less expensive health care, the authors are able to remain rather
objective.
As opposed to my other sources, this article can be used to provide an example as to why
the government is to blame for the ongoing issue. Moreover, from this article, I may conclude that
the government simply does not do enough for the middle class. Hence, a possible solution to the
shrinking middle class could be the modification of the current health care plan.