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In Search of `the Spirit of Capitalism': Weber's Misinterpretation of Franklin

Hugh V. McLachlan

Weber's Protestant Ethic essays are remarkably short of hard evidence for the existence of `The Spirit of Capitalism'. Instead, Weber relies mainly on selected extracts from the writings of Benjamin Franklin to illustrate this attitude. Indeed, Weber seems to regard Franklin's writings as an archetypical example of `The Spirit of Capitalism'. However, a detailed examination of Franklin's life and works reveals a very different story. Far from illustrating `The Spirit of Capitalism', as Weber conceives it, Franklin's life shows that his attachment to capitalist values of profit accumulation was wholly pragmatic rather than being linked to, or deriving from his religious beliefs. If confirmation of the existence of `The Spirit of Capitalism' is to be sought, it has to be elsewhere than by reference to Benjamin Franklin.

Sociology, Vol. 23, No. 1, 81-89 (1989)
DOI: 10.1177/0038038589023001006


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