Preview
This chapter examines the rich theological framework within which the Puritan ideal of thrift first developed. The Puritans believed quite explicitly that thrift was a necessary condition for human thriving because it was the proper response to divine grace. As such, Puritan thrift expressed an ethic of responsible, profitable, and pious management of time, talents, and treasure. As important as such “inner-worldly asceticism” may have been as a mark of salvation to the individual believer, thrift was not reducible to a private, individual practice for the Puritans. Rather, it was as much a spiritual calling for whole communities as it was for the individuals who constituted them.
Keywords: Puritans; thrift; commercial system; thriving; asceticism
Chapter. 14538 words.
Subjects: Economic Sociology
Go to Oxford Scholarship Online » abstract
Full text: subscription required
How to subscribe Recommend to my Librarian
Buy this work at Oxford University Press »
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content. Please, subscribe or login to access all content.