Chaos and comedy: The narrative of Samuel Turner III

Abstract

The advent of World War I in Britain saw a politicisation of profit, heightened by pre-existing labour unrest, State intervention, industrial disruption and claims of profiteering. During this time, the prominent industrialist Sir Samuel Turner III (1878–1955) published two books on the role of business, and particularly profits, in society. As an example of contemporary media, we use these books to highlight how Turner conceptualised profits as representative of Britain's path to post-war success – a transition from darkness into light. We adopt narrative historiography and the genre of comedy to provide a framework for analysis. In doing so, we demonstrate how profit becomes a totalising and taken-for-granted concept representing both economic and social progress.