# Providence — The Acquisitive Society character guide

> Providence in The Acquisitive Society by R. H. Tawney.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Its, it, its

**First appearance:** 0000-introductory

## Who they are

A personification of divine providence invoked in discussions of economic and social order.

## Relationships

### [the Germans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/characters/the_germans)

_rivalry_

Providence and the Germans are locked in a fundamental ideological conflict over the moral and economic organization of society.

### [Bentham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/characters/bentham)

_psychological_

Bentham's utilitarian philosophy is contrasted with Providence as a rational, calculating force opposed to divine or natural order.

### [Lord Hugh Cecil](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/characters/lord_hugh_cecil)

_social_

Lord Hugh Cecil is referenced in relation to Providence as part of a broader intellectual or political discussion.

### [Mr. Justice Sankey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/characters/mr_justice_sankey)

_professional_

Mr. Justice Sankey's legal rulings are invoked in connection with Providence to illustrate a point about justice or social order.

## In the story

### [Introductory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/chapters/introductory)

Not mentioned in this chapter.

### [Rights and Functions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/chapters/rights-and-functions)

Providence is referenced in the context of the eighteenth-century belief in natural instincts as a substitute for God, with a quote about 'self-love and social' being the same.

### [The Acquisitive Society](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/chapters/the-acquisitive-society)

Not directly mentioned in the excerpts; excluded.

### [The Nemesis of Industrialism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/chapters/the-nemesis-of-industrialism)

Referenced indirectly as the source of 'Its' design in the context of the natural flow of consequences from industrialism's dominant principle.

### [Property and Creative Work](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/chapters/property-and-creative-work)

Referenced indirectly in the context of the traditional justification that property ensures the producer reaps where he has sown.

### [The Functional Society](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/chapters/the-functional-society)

Referenced indirectly in the context of property rights and social obligations.

### [Industry as a Profession](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/chapters/industry-as-a-profession)

Implied in the critique of the idea that property rights are divinely ordained or natural, as the chapter argues they must be based on function.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/characters/providence
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_acquisitive_society_se/characters