Union-busting tactics: Carnegie vigorously opposed labor unions and employed various strategies to suppress workers' attempts to organize and demand better working conditions. He hired armed guards to intimidate union leaders and organizers, discharged workers who participated in union activities, and blacklisted union members, making it difficult for them to find employment in the steel industry.
Monopolistic practices: Carnegie's business practices were considered anti-competitive and monopolistic. Through vertical integration, he gained control over the entire steel production process, from raw materials to finished products, giving him significant market power. Carnegie also engaged in predatory pricing tactics, lowering prices below cost to drive competitors out of business.
Inequitable wealth distribution: Carnegie accumulated vast wealth while many of his workers lived in poverty. He famously declared that "the man who dies rich dies disgraced," but he did not allocate a significant portion of his fortune to charitable causes during his lifetime. Instead, he established the Carnegie Corporation after his death, which provided grants for various educational and philanthropic endeavors, but it did not address the glaring wealth disparity created by his business practices.
Unjust treatment of competitors: Carnegie's ruthless business tactics often harmed his competitors. He engaged in aggressive price cutting, industrial espionage, and the acquisition of rival companies, which put smaller steel producers out of business and limited market competition.
Overall, Andrew Carnegie's selfishness was reflected in his pursuit of wealth at the expense of his workers' welfare, his anti-union stance, his monopolistic practices, and his failure to address the social inequalities resulting from his business empire.