# Benjamin Franklin — The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism character guide

> Benjamin Franklin in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Franklin, Benjamin Franklin

**First appearance:** 0006-ii-the-spirit-of-capitalism

## Snapshot

The American printer whose cheerful maxims about honesty, punctuality, and credit Weber reads as the unsettling gospel of modern capitalism.

## Who they are

Franklin preaches virtue because it pays: honesty secures credit, frugality builds capital, and appearance suffices when the end is served. Weber finds this utilitarianism almost too neat, and suspects the Germans who cry hypocrisy have missed something — Franklin's own candor suggests a genuine, if strange, ethical commitment. He is the book's most vivid test case for whether the spirit of capitalism is cynicism or a secular faith.

## In the story

### [The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_protestant_ethic_and_the_spirit_of_capitalis_se/chapters/the-protestant-ethic-and-the-spirit-of-capitalism)

His ethical maxims are used to illustrate the spirit of capitalism.

### [Part I: The Problem](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_protestant_ethic_and_the_spirit_of_capitalis_se/chapters/part-i-the-problem)

Introduced as an exemplar of the Protestant ethic, though Weber notes his ethic is not unique to Protestantism.

### [Religious Affiliation and Social Stratification](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_protestant_ethic_and_the_spirit_of_capitalis_se/chapters/i-religious-affiliation-and-social-stratification)

Not explicitly in this chapter, but his ethic is referenced as a later example of the Protestant ethic.

### [II: The Spirit of Capitalism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_protestant_ethic_and_the_spirit_of_capitalis_se/chapters/ii-the-spirit-of-capitalism)

Franklin's ethic is presented as the ideal type of the capitalist spirit, where moneymaking becomes a calling, and his civic efforts illustrate the rational organization of labor.

### [Part II: The Practical Ethics of the Ascetic Branches of Protestantism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_protestant_ethic_and_the_spirit_of_capitalis_se/chapters/part-ii-the-practical-ethics-of-the-ascetic-branches-of-protestantism)

His ethic is referenced as a contrast to traditional economic attitudes, though not the main focus here.

### [The Religious Foundations of Worldly Asceticism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_protestant_ethic_and_the_spirit_of_capitalis_se/chapters/iv-the-religious-foundations-of-worldly-asceticism)

His tract is cited as a classical document of the 'honesty is the best policy' ethic.

### [A. Calvinism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_protestant_ethic_and_the_spirit_of_capitalis_se/chapters/a-calvinism)

Cited as an example of systematic self-examination and bookkeeping of virtues.

### [D. The Baptist Sects](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_protestant_ethic_and_the_spirit_of_capitalis_se/chapters/d-the-baptist-sects)

His tract is cited as the classical document of the 'honesty is the best policy' ethic, which was central to Baptist worldly asceticism.

### [V: Asceticism and the Spirit of Capitalism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_protestant_ethic_and_the_spirit_of_capitalis_se/chapters/v-asceticism-and-the-spirit-of-capitalism)

His quoted passage is referenced to show the secularized spirit of capitalism.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_protestant_ethic_and_the_spirit_of_capitalis_se/characters/franklin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_protestant_ethic_and_the_spirit_of_capitalis_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_protestant_ethic_and_the_spirit_of_capitalis_se/characters