The Way To Wealth By Benjamin Franklin

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“The Way to Wealth”, written by Benjamin Franklin in 1757, contains proverbs and advice on how one can acquire the same sort of wealth and work ethic that the author himself has. Although, there is much wisdom to be seen from this essay it is my belief that this particular "way to wealth" can not be fully applied to everyone in today's society. When Franklin wrote this essay under the guise of Father Abraham and Poor Richard, he penned a love letter directed towards the idealism of the common (white) man in 1757. But as time goes on, countries evolve and so do its people. The connotation of wealth has changed much since 1757 and today's common man can not adhere to the standards of yesteryear. This change has required a shift in the pursuit of the ideals of the American people and the obstacles that impeded the American dream. …show more content…

Franklin's repetition of work hard/save money is verbose and seemingly unyielding, but in my opinion he faults to explain what having wealth actually is. Thomas Shapiro defines wealth as “...what families own, a storehouse of resources (Shapiro).” proving that the two are altogether different. Not only are they separate entities, but the ease at which they accumulate varies altogether and relates to the other inversely. Shapiro explains it best as, “Wealth signifies a command over financial resources that when combined with income can produce the opportunity to secure the “good

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