A Virtuous Cycle- Look past today's scandals and you'll find that capitalism has always been founded on trust, honesty and decency. That's the only way it works

摘要

In 18th- and early 19th-century Britain a sizable chunk of the nation's economy was run by members of the religious sect known as the Quakers. Quakers owned more than half of the country's ironworks. They were key players in banking (both Barclays and Lloyds were Quaker institutions). They domi-nated consumer businesses like chocolate and biscuits. And they were instrumental in facilitating the transatlantic trade between Britain and America. Initially their success was built around the benefits Quakers got from trading with one another. Because they dissented from the Church of England, members of the sect were barred from the professions and as a result gravitated toward business. When Quakers went looking for credit or for trade, then, they found it easy to partner with fellow believers. Their common faith facilitated trust, allowing a Quaker tradesman in London to ship goods across the ocean and be certain that he would be paid when they arrived in Philadelphia.