David Hume wrote prolifically and influentially on economics and was an enthusiast for the modern commercial era of manufacturing and global trade. As a vocal critic of the Church, and possibly a nonbeliever, Hume positioned commerce at the vanguard of secularism. I here argue that Hume broached ideas that gesture toward those offered by Max Weber in his famous Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904-5). Hume discerned a strong correlation between economic flourishing and Protestantism, and he pointed to a “spirit of the age” that was built on modern commerce and fueled by religious tolerance. The Roman Catholic Church, by contrast, came under considerable attack by Hume, for fostering intolerance and draining and diverting funds. Hume recognized several of the dispositions that later appealed to Weber: an increased work ethic and tendency to frugality, enterprise, and investment in Protestant regions. A neo-Weberian literature now points to additional factors, the spread of literacy and the fostering of a network of trust among strangers, both of which Hume noted. Insofar as modern commerce both feeds upon and fosters more liberties and representative government, Hume also linked these with the advent and spread of Protestantism. My aim is not to suggest that these arguments have merit—there is good reason to question each and every assertion under the historical microscope—but rather to highlight the broader religious and cultural context in which Hume’s economics was broached.

中文翻译：

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大卫·休谟作为一个原始韦伯主义者：商业、新教和世俗文化

大卫休谟在经济学方面的著作多产且颇具影响力，并且热衷于现代商业时代的制造业和全球贸易。作为对教会的直言不讳的批评者，也可能是非信徒，休谟将商业置于世俗主义的前沿。我在这里争辩说，休谟提出的观点与马克斯·韦伯在他著名的《新教伦理与资本主义精神》（1904-5）中提出的观点相一致。休谟发现经济繁荣与新教之间存在很强的相关性，他指出了一种建立在现代商业基础上并由宗教宽容推动的“时代精神”。相比之下，罗马天主教会受到休谟的猛烈抨击，因为它助长了不宽容，耗尽和挪用了资金。休谟认识到后来吸引韦伯的几个倾向：在新教地区，职业道德和节俭、进取心和投资倾向的增加。新韦伯文学现在指出了其他因素，即识字的传播和陌生人之间信任网络的培养，休谟指出了这两点。就现代商业既依赖并促进更多的自由和代议制政府而言，休谟还将这些与新教的出现和传播联系起来。我的目的不是要暗示这些论点有道理——在历史显微镜下质疑每一个断言是有充分理由的——而是要强调休谟经济学所涉及的更广泛的宗教和文化背景。识字的传播和陌生人之间信任网络的培养，休谟指出了这两点。就现代商业既依赖并促进更多的自由和代议制政府而言，休谟还将这些与新教的出现和传播联系起来。我的目的不是要暗示这些论点有道理——在历史显微镜下质疑每一个断言是有充分理由的——而是要强调休谟经济学所涉及的更广泛的宗教和文化背景。识字的传播和陌生人之间信任网络的培养，休谟指出了这两点。就现代商业既依赖并促进更多的自由和代议制政府而言，休谟还将这些与新教的出现和传播联系起来。我的目的不是要暗示这些论点有道理——在历史显微镜下质疑每一个断言是有充分理由的——而是要强调休谟经济学所涉及的更广泛的宗教和文化背景。