By: Cathy Glei on October 25, 2023
“Ours is not a historical work; what we are searching for is not a convincing sequence of outstanding events, but an explanation of their trend in terms of human institutions.” Karl Polanyi [1] “The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time” is a seminal work by Hungarian-American economist and social theorist Karl…
By: Kim Sanford on October 24, 2023
Black-and-white thinkingIn Oxford and immediately afterwards, our cohort had numerous conversations about over-simplified thinking. Simon Walker spoke about the overwhelming complexity of our current era and how our brains desperately grasp at over-simplifications. I found his explanations comforting. It’s not our fault that we reach for simplicity. Our brains crave it. Of course, as responsible…
By: Jonita Fair-Payton on October 24, 2023
I picked up The Great Transformation; The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time and I went straight to the back of the book looking for some insight before I began to read. The first thing that I read was Karl Polanyi (1886- 1964), I said a prayer that this book would be easier for…
By: Tim Clark on October 23, 2023
In the 1987 film, The Princess Bride, the character Vizzini, repeatedly uses the word “inconceivable” when things don’t go as planned. Finally, Inigo Montoya responds: “You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means”. A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog I titled “Words Matter”, admitting that…
By: John Fehlen on October 23, 2023
Many agree that in the realm of economic and social thought, Karl Polanyi’s seminal work, “The Great Transformation,” has left an indelible mark. Although awed by his incredible level of intellect, that mark for me will be, well, delible and unremarkable. Published in 1944, this exhaustive (!) work explores the complex interplay between economic systems,…
By: Dinka Utomo on October 20, 2023
“Beware of thinking all your own that you possess, and of living accordingly. It is a mistake that many people who have credit fall into.” -Benjamin Franklin- Assurance and anxiety stand as polar opposites. Throughout history, individuals have striven for assurance through a multitude of guarantees that offer a sense of confidence. Anxiety is…
By: Jenny Dooley on October 19, 2023
In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, a key question that author Max Weber raised was, “How can we live under modern capitalism, which gives priority to the laws of the market over longstanding traditions, ethical values, and personal relationships?”[1] That is a very good question for us to ask ourselves today. In…
By: Todd E Henley on October 19, 2023
July 20, 1996, I was being interviewed for a Youth Pastor position. The one question I remember from the lead pastor was, “Are there any topics you tend to emphasize more than others on a consistent basis?” I felt the atmosphere in the room change after that question. No one had ever asked me that…
By: Adam Harris on October 19, 2023
Reading a book like Max Weber’s, The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, makes for a difficult blog post, at least for me. Books like these remind me of just how much I don’t know, and I still don’t think my mind is completely wrapped around everything Weber proposes. I think I would…
By: Mathieu Yuill on October 19, 2023
My introduction to Calvinism occurred in my 40s, quite by chance, through a conversation with a pastor I had become acquainted with. To my initial bewilderment, he confessed his affiliation with Calvinism, a theological doctrine. At that moment, I mistakenly believed he was referring to his affinity for the popular comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes.”…
By: Russell Chun on October 19, 2023
Нерозуміння Вебера та інших трагедій (Ukrainian) – Misunderstanding Weber and other tragedies Part 1: Weber, Capitalism, and me. (Background) Part 2: MIS – Understanding Weber. Part 3: The Clarity of Clark…Looking at Ukraine Slovakia (1995). Once upon a time, a Canadian Navigator, surprised me when she said that I operated from a position of “power.” …
By: Cathy Glei on October 19, 2023
“We are interested rather in something entirely different: the influence of those psychological sanctions which, originating in religious belief and the practice of religion, gave a direction to practical conduct and held the individual to it. Now these sanctions were to a large extent derived from the peculiarities of the religious ideas behind them.” [1] …
By: Jana Dluehosh on October 18, 2023
We are human beings, not human doings is a phrase I have found myself using almost weekly as I work with those dying. When we come to the end of our life it is natural to do two things, one is life review: How did I live my life, did I do it right? Am…
By: Pam Lau on October 18, 2023
Pictured above is a copy of the original painting, The Moneychanger and His Wife[1], by Quentin Matsys who was inspired by the two types of moneychangers in the sixteenth century Low Countries. The city’s money changers made payments on the city’s behalf. Commercial money changers exchange foreign coins for local currency keeping benches at the market fairs.…
By: Jonita Fair-Payton on October 17, 2023
Not For Me I struggled with The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. From start to finish, I had a hard time following Max Weber’s writing style. I’m not sure if I’m built for 100-year-old literature, certainly not literature that is extremely dense and filled with so many references to other writers. I have…
By: Kim Sanford on October 17, 2023
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” The famous quote by Socrates, points us to the value of reflection on our lived experience, past and present. Each of us have first-hand experience with evangelicalism as well as living in a capitalist society. Whether we’ve ever thought about it or not, we are affected by both…
By: Kally Elliott on October 16, 2023
Achieving the “American Dream” is baked into the culture of the United States. We are told to “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps,” to make enough money to provide a 2000 square foot roof over our heads and an SUV to hold our 2.5 kids and Golden Retriever. If we can accomplish this “dream” we…
By: Tim Clark on October 16, 2023
I have long heard about the Protestant Work Ethic and applied the term as a generalization about evangelical Christians, including myself, who are hard-working but who carry a little bit of a guilt complex against ever becoming too lazy “because God created us to thrive and make the best use of our gifs for His…
By: John Fehlen on October 16, 2023
My copy of Max Weber’s book has a blurb on the back cover. It says “First published in 1905, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” is listed by the International Sociological Association as the fourth most important book of the 20th century.” Personally, if this is true, then I would hate to read…
By: Dinka Utomo on October 13, 2023
The inner self is the basis of human dignity, moreover the inner sense of dignity needs recognition -Francis Fukuyama- Identity politics seems to be a scourge in our national and state life. I still clearly remember the moment of the Governor’s election for our nation’s capital in 2017. Of the three pairs of candidates…
