Calvinism & Capitalism

[Cognisant]

The short of it is that our cultural work ethic no longer has the religious motivations that originally created it. (go watch the 8-bit philosophy video at escapistmagazine.com)

I don't know about you lot but I work to save up money to buy parts to build a prototype of the robot I want to sell on kickstarter, it's my big dream, my religion I suppose, whenever I'm feeling depressed I just get back to work designing it.

What about you, what do you work for?
Paying off a university education?
Saving up for retirement?
Or just so you can party this weekend?

 

[Grayman]

20% retirement
30% fed government
10% state tax
10% savings
30% house and bills

50 dollors to build my computer or buy a programming soft or a text book for fun

 

[EditorOne]

Marry wealth. It avoids a lot of aggravation.

 

[gilliatt]

Capitalism = Freedom, individual rights, self-interest, individualism, Laissez-Faire, man as a rational being vs Calvinism = Controls, collectivism, government intervention, irrationalism, altruism, mysticism.
Calvinism & Capitalism, they are opposites. Christianity and their position against freedom, wealth, self interest & for the common good, welfare state, service to society, helping poor.
The moral justification of capitalism is man's right to exist for his own sake, not be a sacrificing animal.

 

[Black Rose]

The short of it is that our cultural work ethic no longer has the religious motivations that originally created it. (go watch the 8-bit philosophy video at escapistmagazine.com)

that is because its genetic
culture is genetically influenced
religion is placed on top and is secondary affect

 

[QuickTwist]

*Laughs at title*

What about you, what do you work for?
Paying off a university education?
Saving up for retirement?
Or just so you can party this weekend?

I don't work; work is the devil.
Its close to paying off a university loan. Its a For-Profit school I am paying off.
LOL at planning for retirement. I'm on SSI and I don't really have any goals to get a job where I can actually do that.
Yes, a party by myself, with acomahol and sugar drinks with lots of vitamin B...

 

[Yellow]

Capitalism = Freedom, individual rights, self-interest, individualism, Laissez-Faire, man as a rational being vs Calvinism = Controls, collectivism, government intervention, irrationalism, altruism, mysticism.
Calvinism & Capitalism, they are opposites. Christianity and their position against freedom, wealth, self interest & for the common good, welfare state, service to society, helping poor.
The moral justification of capitalism is man's right to exist for his own sake, not be a sacrificing animal.

I think Cog is referring to Capitalism as it is practiced upon and by the middle class, and the Calvinist philosophies that form the backbone of middle class values (unless I'm wholly mistaken). Middle class values, and middle class Capitalism state that

a) you must work hard to earn whatever you want in life,
b) your material wealth/happiness is a reflection of your dedication and hard work,
c) any lack of material wealth/happiness is a clear display of your own laziness/ineptitude/pride.

Of course it's irrational, but like any sticky idea, it's partly true. Also, it feeds into one of our psychological quirks: The illusion of control.

As for what I'm working toward (in the short term): I need a few new servers for reasons.

 

[onesteptwostep]

This reminds me of an abstract from a research paper I read into a couple days ago. This might derail the thread a bit but meh: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043951X14001369

" It's very meaningful to study the role of religion playing in economic development since religion has influence on political preference, human capital and work ethic, especially in current China which is faced with income disparity, environmental pollution, and official corruption. Our results reveal that, among the different religions, Christianity has the most significant effect on economic growth. This conclusion is consistent among different estimators and robust with stability over time."

 

[Sockrates]

The short of it is that our cultural work ethic no longer has the religious motivations that originally created it. (go watch the 8-bit philosophy video at escapistmagazine.com)

I don't know about you lot but I work to save up money to buy parts to build a prototype of the robot I want to sell on kickstarter, it's my big dream, my religion I suppose, whenever I'm feeling depressed I just get back to work designing it.

What about you, what do you work for?
Paying off a university education?
Saving up for retirement?
Or just so you can party this weekend?

I work because I am supposed to. What else is there to do besides "work" in the lives we live? I don't permit myself to be stagnant, only to take minor breaks when necessary, sometimes.

I have an idea relating to programming, aquaponics, and energy that I would really like to make happen one day when I have the time to truly pursue this idea. I sometimes get caught up in it and forget about what's in front of me that needs to be completed in order to achieve this goal.

Unlimited food would be nice.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Wealth accumulation is a never ending chase. Aren't we renting freedom and buying more time? Working to live, to have lived a life full of work, in the end enjoying what - due peace, an aging body, dead friends, marketed goods? With nothing else in the world being obligatory, exploration for the unknown seems like the last motivation, of course we're still biological animals and will have base desires and mating and kinship as technology progresses. What happens to individuals, society, when everyone's needs are taken care of?

My reasons for wealth accumulation, I guess I just want to make life easier for myself, and have some ability to carry out plans when I conceive them.

 

[OrLevitate]

I opened the sliding door, and got a spider web in my hair.

I ruffled my hair and thought, maybe the spider web's not there anymore, but it seemed like there was still probably a bit of spider web in there but I just felt more comfortable thinking it wasn't. I went out the same door through force of habit more afterwards, forgetting the web was there, just doing it, and I broke the spider's web 4 more times over the next two weeks. I kept it in mind and dodged it a few times, but it was a byproduct of habit, it just kept happening. The spider kept spinning the web back right where it was. I broke the web again, and the next day there was no new web. For the next two days, there was no new web. I went out and saw the spider huddled in a seem in the wall. He'd given up, was out of food, or so I thought! The next day I opened up the sliding door and there was a brand new web in front of me.

I don't think the spider did it because of calvinism