The English Quaker Firm

One cannot move for very long in English Quaker circles without sensing the unmistakable aura of money. It is not that Friends are ostentatious, but they have certain traits inherited from their past which are not perhaps paralleled anywhere in the US outside metropolitan Philadelphia. For some deca...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inQuaker studies Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 179 - 195
Main Author Punshon, John
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Liverpool Liverpool University Press 01.12.2017
Subjects
Associations
Entrepreneurship
Quakers
Religious history
Standard of living
United States > US
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Summary:One cannot move for very long in English Quaker circles without sensing the unmistakable aura of money. It is not that Friends are ostentatious, but they have certain traits inherited from their past which are not perhaps paralleled anywhere in the US outside metropolitan Philadelphia. For some decades now, perhaps for half a century, the proportion of English Friends who have come into the Society by convincement has been increasing, so that they now form well over half the membership. If advanced economies could capture the secret of the steady-state company with a social conscience, as the Quaker businesses had within their grasp at one stage, a way forward might be found that would provide personal fulfillment, a high standard of living and methods of production that do not exploit the environment. The lesson of the Quaker business is that change is best effected from within, and conceivably the best place for young Quakers who wish to change the world is back in business.
ISSN:1363-013X
2397-1770
DOI:10.3828/quaker.2017.22.2.3