500 Word Essay(English): In what ways was William Penn an advocate of middle class morality?

William Penn's was perhaps the biggest advocate of middle class morality. He took a very neutral stand-point on most things concerning this topic, however. He was never an extremist, favoring one end of the spectrum or another. For instance, he didn't think it was okay for someone to squander all their wealth, like the prodigal son in Matthew. But he found it unacceptable to hoard all of one's money and be a miser. This viewpoint is commonly called Accumulation Vs. Prodigality. He also stood in the middle of the argument "adventurism vs. caution." He believed one should take risks in business and so forth, but not be too reckless or dangerous. Finding a happy medium was the best solution to every case/problem in life, according to William. When it came to charity, he was definitely not opposed to those who choose not to give to other people.  He wasn't of the opinion that one was obligated to donate money, unless they felt led to. But if he saw someone who purposely turned a blind eye to suffering, that angered him and was deemed cruel and selfish.

Penn had some strong opinions on how the middle class should view material things, like food and clothes. When it came to eating, he said people shouldn't overeat or indulge in more food than they needed, "hunger vs. satiation". He also argued for, "fashion vs.rags" . William Penn's conviction was that the middle class shouldn't bother with following after the latest fashions and trends. Rather he upheld that they should dress simply and not busy themselves trying to be stylish and wear jewels and so forth. Middle class people played significant roles in society and were very influential and important. Because of this, Penn was extremely specific about how they should conduct themselves. Their behavior would be watched and modeled more carefully, than lower classes. They were blessed with a lot of wealth and position, so they had to be careful how they spent their money/lived their lives.