Ferdinand Kürnberger was a
German writer who wrote a satire of
Benjamin Franklin's 1748
Advice to a Young Tradesman in 1855. In this witty, but somewhat mean-spirited
Picture of American Culture, a comparison is made between the States'
Puritan work ethic, and the historical consistently
staid German
capitalism and
spiritual life. This fictional
faith confession of a
Yankee, showing the virtues of
honesty and
punctuality is
distorted to the point of seeming functional only, and thus
hypocritical. The supposed
American ethos of making money for its own sake is probably misunderstood, as Franklin actually said,
Beware of thinking all your own that you possess, and of living accordingly. It is a mistake that many people of credit fall into. To prevent this, keep an exact account for some time both of your expenses and of your income. [sic]
Kürnberger in his parody had his avarice filled character say, "They make tallow out of cattle and money out of men."
source: Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, 1930.