Selling the Work Ethic: From Puritan Pulpit to Corporate PR (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The concept of work as a determinant of personal value and identity and as an indicator of good character and good morals would have been..." (more)
Key Phrases: dole bludgers, work for the dole, motivating work, New York, Sydney Morning Herald, John Kenneth Galbraith (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Beder's analysis is comprehensive, steely and clinical. -- The Guardian (UK)

If you beg, steal, borrow or buy only one book this year, make it this one.... -- The Ecologist

Review

“Beder's analysis is comprehensive, steely and clinical.” —The Guardian (UK)

“If you beg, steal, borrow or buy only one book this year, make it this one--it is the most important contribution to the environmental debate I have read.” —The Ecologist

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Zed Books (June 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1856498859
• ISBN-13: 978-1856498852
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,750,854 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So that's where it all turned to custard!!, September 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Selling the Work Ethic: From Puritan Pulpit to Corporate PR (Hardcover)

Have you ever wondered why people introduce themselves by saying "what they do"? Have you ever wondered why "work" is so central to everything we say, do, or think about? Well this book answers a lot of those questions. I found that I would read a chapter and then think about it for a couple of days before moving on because it shook my very foundation THAT HARD. I can't recommend this book enough.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Work as pathological obsession, March 26, 2005

By	Malvin (Frederick, MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

"Selling the Work Ethic" by Sharon Beder is a highly readable and thought-provoking history of how work has come to dominate our society. Using thorough documentation and skillful analysis, Ms. Beder contends that today's pathological obsession with work is a direct result of the capitalist production of human subjectivity. The author argues that a change in priorities from production and consumption to one that privileges the quality of life and the environment is needed to resuscitate our frayed society.

Section One discusses the Reformation and the transition from precapitalism to the present. Ms. Beder contrasts the anti-materialist teachings from ancient Greece and the early Christian church with the Protestants who gave a voice to the emerging capitalist class by equating prosperity with virtue. As time progressed, business-sponsored schools, churches and newspapers promoted the work ethic and coerced labor to accept the discipline of the factory. The effectiveness of this mass propaganda is attested to the fact that despite declining real wages and growing inequality, the myth of the American Dream persists to the present day.

Section Two is on the topic of motivating work. Ms. Beder begins with Taylor and Ford to show how industrialists experimented with various methods for controlling and exploiting the workforce. But as welfare capitalism subsequently sought to create emotional and familial bonds with employees and curb union militancy, the downsizing and job insecurity of the postmodern era has shattered the employment contract. Hence the recent restructuring of government welfare programs has been necessitated to punish the poor into accepting menial jobs that otherwise might go unfilled.

Section Three is about conditioning. The education system molds students for production through overwork and instills the ethos of competition by organizing team sports. Mass marketing leads to increased consumption of the commodities that signify status in a society of mass anonymity. Unfortunately, the stress of working long hours to achieve material success manifests itself in a myriad of social maladies including anxiety, obesity and rampant drug abuse.

Ms. Beder concludes that the work ethic crowds out time for people to reflect on the deeper meaning of their lives and to work collectively towards change. While the author offers little guidance as to how people might move beyond this impasse, those who do take the time to read her book are rewarded with greater insight and understanding. In this respect, then, "Selling the Work Ethic" may help readers begin to deconstruct and challenge the status quo.

I highly recommend this book to everyone.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine piece of work! - worthwhile work, that is!, October 2, 2001

By	Patrick Walsh (Amsterdam, North Holland The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

As always, Dr. Sharon Beder presents us with some
mind-altering analysis, which will probably change
your view of the world and, what is valuable therein.

After reading this, a pleasure in itself, you will
come away with a much better understanding of why
our societies run the way they do and, how they
will have to run differently if we want to have a
realistic chance of ending the madness, of creating a more
human world, which our ancestors will be able to live in...