Entrepreneurs and Capitalism since Luther: Rediscovering the Moral Economy

The book provides an overview of the history of business, capitalism, and entrepreneurship from Martin Luther to Donald Trump in order to highlight the role of social and cultural capital in encouraging business activities. The Authors, Ivan Light and Léo-Paul Dana, examine the availability of social and cultural capital through the analysis of six case studies that illustrate how these forms of capital have evolved from capitalism’s early stages to today. From the analysis emerges that, in capitalism’s early stages, entrepreneurship was mainly driven by social capital, connections were essential to encourage and legitimize business activities; conversely, when capitalism was well established, cultural capital became crucial for entrepreneurship than social capital. Finally, Light and Dana concluded that, to date, the most persistent entrepreneurs are those who retain strong social capital in terms of community ties; in contrast, if lacking social capital, elite entrepreneurs rely on money.