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Advice to a Young Tradesman

In this compact masterpiece of American pragmatism, Franklin distilled the emerging commercial ethos of colonial society into memorable maxims that would echo through generations of entrepreneurial ambition. Written as a letter to a young merchant, the essay crystallized the Protestant work ethic into practical wisdom: “Time is money,” Franklin declared, coining a phrase that would become synonymous with American capitalism.

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Summary

The document reveals Franklin at his most prescient, anticipating the psychological foundations of credit and reputation in a market economy. His counsel—pay debts promptly, dress modestly, appear industrious even when idle—recognized that commercial success depended as much on perception as performance. Franklin understood that in a fluid, expanding society, character itself became capital.

Yet beneath the practical advice lay deeper currents of Enlightenment thought. Franklin’s tradesman was not merely accumulating wealth but participating in a moral universe where industry served virtue and prosperity advanced civilization. This fusion of material and moral progress would become distinctly American, distinguishing New World commerce from Old World aristocratic disdain for trade.

The essay’s enduring influence reflects Franklin’s genius for transforming Puritan restraint into secular ambition, creating an ethical framework for capitalism that seemed both righteous and reasonable to a nation of strivers.

Quotes from Advice to a Young Tradesman

“Remember that Time is Money.”

Benjamin Franklin (verified)

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