What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate claims by Weber, Schumpeter, and Sombart that double-entry bookkeeping served as a key technical driver of rationality and capitalist production.

July 1, 1991American Journal of Sociology

Accounting for Rationality: Double-Entry Bookkeeping and the Rhetoric of Economic Rationality

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To evaluate claims by Weber, Schumpeter, and Sombart that double-entry bookkeeping served as a key technical driver of rationality and capitalist production.
Conducted a historical survey of accounting practices and methods spanning from the Middle Ages through the 19th century.
Applied Jack Goody's theoretical analysis of writing and literacy to distinguish the technical mechanisms of bookkeeping from its rhetorical dimensions.
Double-entry bookkeeping increased practical rationality as a technical method while simultaneously operating as rhetoric to persuade external audiences of a business's legitimacy.
The historical significance of double-entry bookkeeping cannot be fully understood through technical calculation alone, requiring equal consideration of its persuasive rhetorical role.

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Implication

Historical analysis uncovers the technical and rhetorical functions of accounting from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, highlighting double-entry bookkeeping's role in legitimizing capitalism.

Cite This Study

Carruthers et al. (1991) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a10ede38102eb4b66eeb65f https://doi.org/10.1086/229739

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Implication

Historical analysis uncovers the technical and rhetorical functions of accounting from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, highlighting double-entry bookkeeping's role in legitimizing capitalism.

Accounting for Rationality: Double-Entry Bookkeeping and the Rhetoric of Economic Rationality

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Accounting for Rationality: Double-Entry Bookkeeping and the Rhetoric of Economic Rationality

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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