Jonathan Klemens 's ' The Protestant Work Ethic : Just Another ' Urban Legend?

Work ethic is one of the biggest factors of American economy, is he support system of out country. Many have different opinions about this broad concept, Jonathan Klemen mentions in his essay “The protestant work ethic: just another “urban legend”” that work ethic is personalized by those who have found their passion and who have found work that provides social and personal satisfaction. He also believes that in order to achieve success you only have to work hard and concentrate in he principals of the protestant work ethic ideologies. Therefore I disagree with Klemen's conservative claims about the American work ethic because his expectations and presumptions are no where near as attainable as in he past,which effects the probability for certain social groups of people to achieve success.

This concept of the dignity of labor was not new. Most Americans came from a Protestant background, in which “nobility of labor was an article of faith.” [3] In Calvinist theology, each man had a divine calling. In order to properly live life, each man should provide evidence that he was predestined to enter heaven. Wealth became a way of serving God on earth in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Labor was a religious value and many aspects of a successful work ethic were obligations. These beliefs were more concentrated in the Northeast. In Rochester, New York, in the 1830s for example, Charles Finney, an evangelist during the Second Great Awakening, took part in this spiritual revival. The Second Great Awakening is known as “a missionary crusade that transformed America”. [4] People who wished to slow the social and political change of the Industrial Revolution and reinforce social control through Christian values organized this resurgence. They wished for modernity with Christian self-control. [5] Charles Finney’s arrival in Rochester provided a solution to the “social disorder” and “moral confusion” the town was facing. [6] The town was encountering much uncertainty with its adjustment to a free labor economy. Therefore, industrial capitalist beliefs of the free labor ideology became attached to visions of a perfect moral order based on individual freedoms.

Hence a neglect of details of politics such as had never been seen before.” (Doc 1) In Bryce’s view, the social and economic changes activated by expansion and advancements had pros and cons. In their search for stability after the war, Americans constantly looked to the gov­ernment for guidance. The government however, was not prepared to deal with the new problems that came about. They avoided the important topics of the time like monopolies, differences be­tween laborers and employers, and the failing agricultural economy. Similar opinions floated around including the one of a financial writer and social reformer named Henry Demarest Lloyd in his work, “Lords of Industry”, which exposed the ways business leaders eliminated competition and controlled prices. He urged citizens to leave the days of material goods in their past and work to improve moral principles in society. In Lloyd’s opinion the future of America had no way of expanding farther until corruption no longer plagued the economy. (Doc 2) Industry giants like John D. Rockefeller did not think the same way. Prosperous industrialists believed in social Darwinism, or survival of the fittest. Their moral conscience was clean

In “The Protestant Work Ethic: Just Another ‘Urban Legend?’” Jonathan Klemens, the author, states what work ethic is and how it applies in American society. Klemens explained that the work ethic of the workers in a company or some type of organization has helped the nation as a whole. Klemens explained that people work hard to achieve “the company or organization’s missions” (122). Not only that, Klemens also explained that people would work hard to gain the particular professions they desire instead of just working with no goals.

In early American culture, Protestant ethics and ideology were a driving force behind American laws and the general way of life. This was most predominantly exemplified in the Protestant ethos. This poignant ideology that says “if you work hard good things will come to you” plays both a pertinent role in American ideology, regardless of religion or race. Many individuals have fairly appraised that the American ethos and the Protestant ethos as being one and the

Every Good Endeavor, by Timothy Keller, throughout chapters three and four, hit several important topics about the acts of work. Initially, Keller talks of culture and how it's a biblical principle to fill and subdue the earth we live in. Merely reproducing is not what defines culture, but the acts of work that bring civilization. The word itself, subdue, means a real assertion of will. Basically, placing work where able. God himself designed the word to need work, the fruit of work brings us riches and potential. Work also brings growth, not only for others but for ourselves. God sees work as to Him and to our neighbors. In terms, work is essentially an act of worship. God gives us all the resources we need to cultivate the earth. In example,

Roosevelt’s essay addressed the working class of America and the respect that he had for them. He stated that he wanted “to preach the highest form of success which comes not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not

The certain morality of the lawful pursuit of wealth gives businessmen both a clear conscience and the ability to employ motivated workers who themselves constantly labor for the glory of God. The businessmen’s conscience is further cleared by the thought that the unequal distribution of goods is part of God’s plan – it is God’s secret choice to bestow grace as he wishes. The workers “calling”, in contrast, is to labor regardless of the wage, striving to glorify God and secure status as the elect. The ascetic lifestyle of a poor worker is also glorified, as the worker lives as the apostles once did. The attitudes of both the businessmen and the worker in the modern economic relationship naturally flow from ascetic Protestantism.

One’s ethnicity or cultural background causes a certain work ethic. In the chapter Rice Paddy’s and Math Tests Malcom Gladwell shows this cause and effect. In Gladwell’s text it says rice farmers worked year around. When they were not farming they were making baskets and hats to sell at the market. Gladwell gives another example of a group of hunters and gatherers who gather food during the warm weather, but when it’s cold they hibernate like bears .Many of these people starved to death in the winter.

I believe that Max Weber’s most acclaimed work ‘The Protestant Work Ethic and The Spirit of

The Protestant work ethic is that of God fearing people must work regardless of their wage or type of employment. God commanded work, America provided opportunity and economic success became a sign for divine favor. The Protestant Work Ethic fueled the creation of a work oriented society and provided a religious foundation for the condemnation of the poor. Because the PWE believed that prosperity was a sign of God’s favor and that poverty was a sign of God’s displeasures: they had negative attitudes towards disadvantaged groups, such as low income or homeless individuals. The PWE believed that the less advantaged groups were not working hard enough and therefore at fault for their poorer life outcomes.

The gist of Weber's argument is that the Protestant work ethic centers around individualism. " Weber argues that this emphasis upon individualism in relation to salvation helped foster the advancement of capitalism in that capitalism depended upon a focus upon individualism in economic relationships with others" ("The Protestant Ethic, the Spirit of Capitalism, and Perceptions of Poverty"). In the Protestant religion, the role of priests is not diminished, as many critics of the Protestant religion have argued, it is more so that the focus is on the individual. Under Protestantism, all followers must be able to read the Bible for themselves. Not only must they be able to read the Bible for themselves, but also they must attempt to glean meaning out of it for themselves.

The Bible says in Colossians 3:23 “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” When the Borgenicht family joined the clothing industry to make a living in America, “they spent their entire savings on cloth. Regina Borgenicht would sew the aprons all night and Louis Borgenicht would pick up where she left off. As people began to buy their aprons, their business grew rapidly, and the Jewish immigrants paved the way for future generations” (Gladwell 141-42). By doing their work for God’s glory, the Borgenicht family instilled within their legacy the desire to make work meaningful so that their work will be satisfactory to them. After studying experiments showing Asian children to excel at math better than American children, Gladwell claims “that being good at math is also rooted in a group’s culture. In the heartland of southern China, the only way of living was to farm rice paddies. The job was no easy task-farmers would have to wake up before dawn every day, always watch the water levels of the field, and pick the rice at just the right time. Working over three thousand hours a year, rice farmers work twenty times harder than the average farmer” (Gladwell 232-37). Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” The effort and hard work their ancestors did on the rice paddies developed into a strong work ethic seen in many Asian students today. One’s success can be credited to the moral values passed down from generation to

Protestant work ethic is the feeling of satisfaction experienced as a result of working dutifully towards a goal. It demonstrates an ability to be persistent and garners respect from others. The spiritual ethic of asceticism drives a person to relinquish all except basic consumption, thus receiving spiritual satisfaction because of their personal attention to moral rectitude, which garners reverential respect from other. Weber asserts that dutiful

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"