History for Tomorrow by Roman Krznaric
History for Tomorrow by Roman Krznaric
History for Tomorrow by Roman Krznaric

Books

Chapter 7 Reflections

History for Tomorrow by Roman Krznaric

Books

Max Weber’s account of the influence of Protestantism (and Calvinism), and the way in which it created the perfect conditions for capitalism to emerge is pretty interesting. My understanding from my fairly brief readings of Weber is that it resulted in two things (no doubt more, but two for the sake of this thought): This idea of moral condemnation around laziness or luxuriating - that wealth is bad only in so far as it invites a person toward idleness, and the way these ideas served to both instil the value of work ethic, but also imbue it with a spiritual dimension beyond contribution. Which highlights the many “truths” we’ve inherited today which stem from this interplay between early religious perspectives and puritan views which culminated in the ideas around the protestant work ethic . . .“Don’t waste your gifts” - the idea that if you have the potential to do more or be more, that it’s a crime to waste it. That the worst thing in the world is to be lazy . . think about our obsession with productivity, time management. Which makes me wonder . . .

Is it possible to think critically about the systems and structures we operate within, without understanding the historical context from which they sprung, and all that the context implies with regards to motivations, power dynamics, cultural / temporal context etc?

Max Weber’s account of the influence of Protestantism (and Calvinism), and the way in which it created the perfect conditions for capitalism to emerge is pretty interesting. My understanding from my fairly brief readings of Weber is that it resulted in two things (no doubt more, but two for the sake of this thought): This idea of moral condemnation around laziness or luxuriating - that wealth is bad only in so far as it invites a person toward idleness, and the way these ideas served to both instil the value of work ethic, but also imbue it with a spiritual dimension beyond contribution. Which highlights the many “truths” we’ve inherited today which stem from this interplay between early religious perspectives and puritan views which culminated in the ideas around the protestant work ethic . . .“Don’t waste your gifts” - the idea that if you have the potential to do more or be more, that it’s a crime to waste it. That the worst thing in the world is to be lazy . . think about our obsession with productivity, time management. Which makes me wonder . . .

Is it possible to think critically about the systems and structures we operate within, without understanding the historical context from which they sprung, and all that the context implies with regards to motivations, power dynamics, cultural / temporal context etc?

Max Weber’s account of the influence of Protestantism (and Calvinism), and the way in which it created the perfect conditions for capitalism to emerge is pretty interesting. My understanding from my fairly brief readings of Weber is that it resulted in two things (no doubt more, but two for the sake of this thought): This idea of moral condemnation around laziness or luxuriating - that wealth is bad only in so far as it invites a person toward idleness, and the way these ideas served to both instil the value of work ethic, but also imbue it with a spiritual dimension beyond contribution. Which highlights the many “truths” we’ve inherited today which stem from this interplay between early religious perspectives and puritan views which culminated in the ideas around the protestant work ethic . . .“Don’t waste your gifts” - the idea that if you have the potential to do more or be more, that it’s a crime to waste it. That the worst thing in the world is to be lazy . . think about our obsession with productivity, time management. Which makes me wonder . . .

Is it possible to think critically about the systems and structures we operate within, without understanding the historical context from which they sprung, and all that the context implies with regards to motivations, power dynamics, cultural / temporal context etc?

Max Weber’s account of the influence of Protestantism (and Calvinism), and the way in which it created the perfect conditions for capitalism to emerge is pretty interesting. My understanding from my fairly brief readings of Weber is that it resulted in two things (no doubt more, but two for the sake of this thought): This idea of moral condemnation around laziness or luxuriating - that wealth is bad only in so far as it invites a person toward idleness, and the way these ideas served to both instil the value of work ethic, but also imbue it with a spiritual dimension beyond contribution. Which highlights the many “truths” we’ve inherited today which stem from this interplay between early religious perspectives and puritan views which culminated in the ideas around the protestant work ethic . . .“Don’t waste your gifts” - the idea that if you have the potential to do more or be more, that it’s a crime to waste it. That the worst thing in the world is to be lazy . . think about our obsession with productivity, time management. Which makes me wonder . . .

Is it possible to think critically about the systems and structures we operate within, without understanding the historical context from which they sprung, and all that the context implies with regards to motivations, power dynamics, cultural / temporal context etc?

Max Weber’s account of the influence of Protestantism (and Calvinism), and the way in which it created the perfect conditions for capitalism to emerge is pretty interesting. My understanding from my fairly brief readings of Weber is that it resulted in two things (no doubt more, but two for the sake of this thought): This idea of moral condemnation around laziness or luxuriating - that wealth is bad only in so far as it invites a person toward idleness, and the way these ideas served to both instil the value of work ethic, but also imbue it with a spiritual dimension beyond contribution. Which highlights the many “truths” we’ve inherited today which stem from this interplay between early religious perspectives and puritan views which culminated in the ideas around the protestant work ethic . . .“Don’t waste your gifts” - the idea that if you have the potential to do more or be more, that it’s a crime to waste it. That the worst thing in the world is to be lazy . . think about our obsession with productivity, time management. Which makes me wonder . . .

Is it possible to think critically about the systems and structures we operate within, without understanding the historical context from which they sprung, and all that the context implies with regards to motivations, power dynamics, cultural / temporal context etc?

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