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Chapter 7 - From Poverty to Prosperity: The Recalibration of Frugality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 June 2020

By
Christopher J. Berry
Edited by
Ingo Gildenhard  and
Cristiano Viglietti
Ingo Gildenhard
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Cristiano Viglietti
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi, Siena
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Summary

The chapter traces the incorporation of the ideal of frugality in its sense of material sobriety, as devised especially by Cicero drawing upon the middle Stoa, into Christian thought and its subsequent ‘demoralisation’ by David Hume and Adam Smith on the grounds that luxury or opulence would enhance the overall material well-being of society. It argues that the two Scottish philosophers nevertheless partially re-incorporated ‘frugality’ in their system of thought as economic prudence directed to the acquisition of fortune as a way of sacrificing present advantage for greater return in future.

Keywords

ChristianityCicerodemoralisationeconomic theoryDavid HumeAdam SmithStoicism
Type
Chapter
Information
Roman Frugality
Modes of Moderation from the Archaic Age to the Early Empire and Beyond
 , pp. 372 - 399
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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