Abstract
The Puritan ethic is conventionally interpreted as a set of individualistic values that encourage a degree of self-interest inimical to the good of organizations and society. A closer reading of original Puritan moralists reveals a different ethic. Puritan moralists simultaneously legitimated economic individualism while urging individuals to work for the common good. They contrasted self-interest and the common good, which they understood to be the sinful and moral ends, respectively, of economic individualism. This polarity can be found in all the details of their moral system, including the Puritan understanding of vocation, economic virtues, property rights, contracts, wealth and poverty, market prices and interest, and the proper economic role of government. The efforts of contemporary ethics to confront the problem of self-interest in business organizations and society would be enriched by a rediscovery of the Puritan understanding of self as a fundamental problem for any individualistic value system.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ames, W.: 1643, Conscience with the Power and Cases Thereof, n.p. (University Microfilms, Inc.), pp. 250, 255, 25, 222, 211, 253–254, 257, 231, 235, 236.
Aram, J. D.: 1993, Presumed Superior: Individualism and American Business (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ), pp. 2–3.
Bellah, R. N., R. Madsen, W. M. Sullivan, A. Swidler and S. M. Tipton: 1986, Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life (Harper and Row, New York), pp. 37, 28–30.
Bernstein, P.: 1997, American Work Values: Their Origin and Development (Albany: State University of New York), pp. 69–94.
Cavanagh, G. F.: 1990, American Business Values (3rd ed.) (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ), pp. 73–76, 76.
Cotton, J.: 1965 (orig. 1655), ‘On the Limitation of Government’, in Edmund S. Morgan (ed.), Puritan Political Ideas 1558–1794 (Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis), p. 175.
Cotton, J.: 1641, The Way of Life, n.p. (University Microfilms, Inc.), pp. 439, 447, 459.
Dorfman, J.: 1953, The Economic Mind in American Civilization, Vol. I (Viking, New York), pp. 29–59, 57, 50–51.
Friedman, M.: (orig. 1970) 1993, ‘The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits’, reprinted in T. Donaldson and P. H. Werhane (eds.), Ethical Issues in Business, 4th ed. (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ), pp. 249–255.
Nelson, R.: 1991, Reaching for Heaven on Earth: The Theological Meaning of Economics (Rowman and Littlefield, Savage, MD), pp. 147–150, 157.
Perkins, W.: 1965, ‘Of the Vocations or Callings of Man’, in E. S. Morgan (ed.), Puritan Political Ideas 1558–1794 (Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis), pp. 54, 36, 39, 39, 53, 36.
Robinson, J.: 1962, Economic Philosophy (Doubleday, Garden City, NY), p. 54.
Smith, A.: 1937 (orig. 1776), The Wealth of Nations (Random House, New York), p. 423.
Tawney, R. H.: 1962 (orig. 1926), Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (Peter Smith, Glouster, MA), pp. 229, 224–226.
Weber, M.: 1958 (orig. Eng. ed. 1930), The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Chas. Scribner's Sons, New York).
Winthrop, J.: 1965 (orig. 1630), ‘Christian Charitie; a Modell Hereof’, in E. S. Morgan (ed.), Puritan Political Ideas 1558–1794 (Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis), p. 86.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Frey, D.E. Individualist Economic Values and Self-Interest: The Problem in the Puritan Ethic. Journal of Business Ethics 17, 1573–1580 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005917301794
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005917301794