''The Stock Exchange'' (in German: ''Die Börse'') is an 1896 book written by

Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profo ...

, a German economist and sociologist. During the 1890s the

stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...

had become the symbol of capitalism in Germany. Reinhard Bendix, ''Max Weber: an intellectual portrait'', University of California Press, 1977, p. 23 During 1894–1896 Weber wrote a number of essays about stock exchange, in which he argued against the popular view that the stock exchange was a fraudulent enterprise designed to abuse "the honest working people." Weber in his research on the stock exchange concentrated on two subjects. First, he showed that commercialization could help create or destroy cultural values, sometimes doing both at the same time - it had destroyed the values of patriarchalism, but created the opportunities for farm workers.Reinhard Bendix, ''Max Weber: an intellectual portrait'', University of California Press, 1977, p. 29 The stock exchange itself has facilitated the expansion of trade, but at the same time it did allow for new ways of crime and abuse. Second, Weber showed that economic conduct was an integral part of ideas related to pursuing economic interests, but those ideas have to be viewed separately.

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1896 non-fiction books Finance books Sociology books Works by Max Weber 1896 in economics {{finance-book-stub