The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Metaphors and Similes

Time As Money (Metaphor)

This metaphor is first introduced when Weber discusses Benjamin Franklin's passage regarding the accumulation of capital. Franklin uses this metaphor to communicate to his readers that they must think of their time in terms of what kind of money they could be making with it. This means that it is important not to waste any time, because doing so would be equivalent to wasting money. Thinking of time as money in this way emphasises the dangers of idleness or indulgence. Weber will refer to this metaphor throughout the text as he explains how this attitude came about thanks to the Protestants' conception of hard work as something important for salvation.