Gain and Loss in the Circle of Life
In Richard Powers’ novel, Gain, he intertwines two fictional stories to analyze the growth of large corporation in America and the deterioration of the individual as a potential result. He tells the story of the rise of a family soap making business, J. Clare and Sons, into a large-scale corporation over a span of 150 years. As a second story line, he incorporates the end of the life of Laura Bodey, a divorced real estate agent with ovarian cancer living in Lacewood, a town centered around the corporation’s headquarters. He makes a unique statement about the increasingly detrimental nature of business as it grows in scale. He never condemns Clare International nor does he overly-victimize any
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Samuel also represents the aspect of capitalism that Weber discusses in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
During the period of time that Samuel and his wife begin to follow Miller and his movement, Powers most clearly shows Samuel’s Calvinistic mindset. When arguing over the question of whether or not the Clare’s pursuit of profit was moral, Samuel gives the reader their biggest glimpse into his views related to predestination and God’s gifts to his chosen followers: “If they had been committing some wrong, Samuel assured her, they could not have stayed in the business so long. Prosperity only proved how fully they satisfied the wishes of both God and men” (89). Weber believed that through their pursuit of eternal life, the Calvinists created a business model of hard work and moral superiority, all things that Samuel brings to J. Clare and Sons.
In many ways, Powers shows that he values Weber’s theory of Capitalism the most out of all those the class has discussed. In creating the Clares’ story, he acts as “God,” and bestows streaks of good luck onto them for their hard work and risk taking. For instance, when Douglas, Samuel’s son, buys huge amounts of rosin at an opportune time, he is at first chastised, but then rewarded when it ends up being the
Weber argues that religious beliefs contributed to major social change- specifically the emergence of modern capitalism in Northern Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Modern capitalism differs from capitalism as it is based on systematic, efficient and a rational pursuit of profit and profit for its own sake rather than consumption. Weber calls this the spirit of capitalism.
This dramatic increase resulted in great periods of growth and invention (Hatzifotis, 2017). Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism looked at the relationship between Protestantism and the emergence of modern capitalism. He discussed how Protestant’s involvement in business and profiting was
As novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his book, “The Great Gatsby”, writes about the escapades of the ridiculously wealthy in the twenties. And about how our innate obsession only leaves us empty inside. Fitzgerald’s purpose, is to portray wealth in a negative light. Because money cannot buy everything in life. Money can purchase material goods, but not happiness.
Money can buy trinkets and comfort, but it can't fill a life with meaning. Wealth corrupts the soul, removing the remaining humanity and leaving a dry husk of the person they once were. "The Great Gatsby" aggrandized the barren chasm that luxury leaves in it's wake. Through Gatsby and Daisy's relationship, and the symbolism of The Valley of Ashes, Fitzgerald paints wealth's path of destruction.
I believe that Max Weber’s most acclaimed work ‘The Protestant Work Ethic and The Spirit of
2.2 Review current legislation and organisational practices and policies for partnership working in health and social care
One expects Weber to Capitalism is a result of Protestantism or to be more specific, Calvinism. Calvinism believes God has granted few with salvation whereas others have to go through damnation. This virtue isn't dependent on their good or bad actions/ deeds but because God wanted it in a certain way. This belief made believers of Calvinism worried about their salvation and made them invest more efforts into economic success. This, in turn, made them believe that they were the chosen favourites of God. Furthermore, the profits made by Calvanists were re-invested into the business for further profits rather than self-indulgence. Hence, the concept of "Protestant ethic" came into place which generally refers to desire of having enormous economic success and will of working hard. This concept of "work ethic"
German sociologist and historian Max Weber describes this spirit as “that attitude which seeks profit rationally and systematically in the manner which we have illustrated by the example of Benjamin Franklin [i.e. that time is money, credit is money, and money can beget money]” (Weber). Weber goes on to describe the Calvinistic ‘calling’ as a cause of capitalistic spirit, which was essentially a vocation which a Calvinist is called by God to do. The calling is connected to the gifts that God had given each human being for the good of society. Weber also asserts that because of the Calvinist belief in predestination, there was an uncertainty of purpose among Calvinists, as they felt deeply troubled as to whether they would be saved or not and actively sought signs as to what God’s plan for them was. Eventually, these Calvinists sought God’s approval based upon the commercial profit and monetary gain that came as a result of their calling (Weber). It was the hard work which came as a result of this that gave birth to capitalist spirit. Undoubtedly, Calvinistic economic theory had a huge impact on modern forms of capitalism. The Anglican church, while having some effect on the economy of England at the time, had no profound influence on economics outside of the immediate time period. The only event worth noting is the dissolution of the Benedictine monasteries by Henry VIII in 1536. He destroyed the monasteries in
I have Just read the book, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and watched the corresponding movie. I would like to share what I thought about them ; the differences, the similarities, the things I liked, and the things I did not like. In both the movie and the book the setting is same for the most part. The store begins in New York City, Then they travel to camp half-blood, Then Percy gets his quest where he then travels to California to try to get the lightning bolt back from Hades.
Al Pacino's "Looking for Richard" is an unusual film. It is a documentary about the complexities of Shakespeare, the performing of the play Richard III, and the ignorance of the average American regarding Shakespeare. The unusual nature of the film - it's similar to a filmed Cliff-notes version of the text - provokes wildly different reactions from film buffs, critics, and Shakespeare purists. A perusal of five different reviews of the film show such variant descriptors that range from Mary Brennan's comment that the documentary is "decidedly narcissistic" to Edwin Jahiel's comment that the film is an "original, mesmerizing exploration." The rather wide incongruity between the reviews
The pursuit of riches is a vain endeavor, the more money you get the more money you desire. If wealth is your only goal in life, you will soon find out how ineffective materialism aids in lasting satisfaction. This perpetual dissatisfaction is excellently portrayed in The Great Gatsby, a realistic fiction by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel focuses on the downfall of Jay Gatsby due to the moral vacuum generated by his social class status and his inability to recreate an idealistic past, even with the assistance of his massive fortune. Therefore, wealth generates the downfall of the respective people in this story. It is highlighted as a vehicle for recklessness when Daisy doesn’t take responsibility for her crime and within Jay Gatsby’s impulsive choices, this negative connotation of money is proven as a futile attempt when Gatsby’s “friends” are unable to attend his funeral.
Ellen Goodman’s, “The Company Man,” reveals the legacy left behind after a man named Phil dies of overworking. The workaholic has no lasting relationships formed with his family and is easily replaceable at his job he worked so hard to achieve. Through the use of many rhetorical devices, Goodman’s disappointment and distaste of Phil and the obsessive American working class is apparent.
This case details the position of Carol Sullivan-Diaz, the 28-year-old daughter of Walter Sullivan who died at the age of 56. Walter had bought a Ford dealership in 1983 that eventually grew into what is now Sullivan Ford Auto World. The business sells cars but also services them. Carol is disappointed by current turnover in car sales and sees that the service revenues are below average for this size of dealership. Carol’s now has to decide what way to tackle the future. She can sell the business but will probably only return a value below what it might be worth if profitable or she can look at the operation and see if she can turn it around herself. While she has a bachelor’s degree in economics, an MBA degree and a
Max Weber was one of the world's greatest sociologists and wrote a lot about the capitalist world he lived in. He had a different conception of capitalist society than most of his contemporaries. He looked at capitalism from all the different aspects that the philosophy was made of. Some of these aspects are state power, authority, class inequality, imperialism, and bureaucracy. To understand how Weber thought one must look at each area separately then put them all together in a global package.
“You mutt. You are worthless scum.” Stated a NYPD officer as he attacked a young Muslim boy. Everyday people are effected by terrorism, but what not everyone knows or understands is how hard terrorism can be for innocent Muslims. Many Muslims are targeted because of their religious association with Islamic extreamists. Even some non-Muslim, Arabic people are targeted because of their ethnicity. Terrorism can take a major toll on Muslim-American’s physical, social, mental, and emeotional well being.