Looks at the secularisation of thrift through the influence of Benjamin Franklin, and his belief that one can work one’s way into heaven; in other words that salvation can be earned. Explores Victorian writers such as Wharton and Dickens, as well as Samuel Smiles and his emphasis on individual responsibility and self-improvement. Finally, compares today’s austerity policies and emphasis on household economia to Victorian thinking and the influence of Disraeli’s One Nationism.
This book surveys ‘thrift’ through its moral, religious, ethical, political, spiritual and philosophical expressions, focusing in on key moments such as the early Puritans and postwar rationing, and key characters such as Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Smiles and Henry Thoreau. The relationships between thrift and frugality, mindfulness, sustainability and alternative consumption practices are explained, and connections made between myriad conceptions of thrift and contemporary concerns for how consumer cultures impact scarce resources, wealth distribution and the Anthropocene. Ultimately, the book returns the reader to an understanding of thrift as it was originally used – to ‘thrive’ – and attempts to re-cast thrift in more collective, economically egalitarian terms, reclaiming it as a genuinely resistant practice. Students, scholars and general readers across all disciplines and interest areas will find much of interest in this book, which provides a multi-disciplinary look at a highly topical concept.