It seems like more and more people are growing tired of a society in which work invades every aspect of life. The good news is, it wasn't always like this.

Support the channel by visiting: https://brianholdsworth.ca/help

Max Weber famously theorized that Western Civilization underwent a dramatic cultural revolution that was not only spiritual, but also temporal, after the emergence of Protestantism. He developed the theory of the "Protestant Work Ethic" which elevated work to the same status as prayer, such that our time for leisure/rest/worship, was found to be no better or more important to work. Combined with other dramatic changes like the industrial revolution, it became easy for capitalists and profiteers to take advantage of these new modern values to insist that work dominate the lives of the worker. Gone are the myriad Catholic feasts and holidays. Replaced with slogans like "Work Harder!" and "Do more!".

Music written and generously provided by Paul Jernberg. Find out more about his work as a composer here: http://pauljernberg.com

Podcast Version: https://brianholdsworth.libsyn.com/