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The Formation Of A “Spirit Of Capitalism” In Upper Germany: Leonhard Fronsperger’S (1564) “On The Praise Of Self-Interest”

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  • Klump, Rainer
  • Pilz, Lars
  • Assistant, JHET

Abstract

In 1564 Leonhard Fronsperger, a military expert and citizen of the Free Imperial City of Ulm in Upper Germany, publishes a booklet “On the Praise of Self-Interest” (“Von dem Lob deß Eigen Nutzen”). Using the form of a satirical poem, he demonstrates how the individual pursuit of self-interest can lead to the common good. Writing long before Bernard Mandeville and Adam Smith, Fronsperger presents a thorough analysis of all kinds of self-interested social, political and economic relations. His praise of self-interest demonstrates how over the sixteenth century the interplay of economic success (in particular in major trading cities), a more realistic conception of human behavior and some aspects of Humanism and the Reformation led to a new understanding of the origins of economic dynamics. This became the basis for what Weber (1904-05/2009) would later term “the spirit of capitalism”.

Suggested Citation

  • Klump, Rainer & Pilz, Lars & Assistant, JHET, 2020. "The Formation Of A “Spirit Of Capitalism” In Upper Germany: Leonhard Fronsperger’S (1564) “On The Praise Of Self-Interest”," OSF Preprints 4ztvd, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:4ztvd
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/4ztvd
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    1. Force,Pierre, 2003. "Self-Interest before Adam Smith," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521830607.
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