Americans don’t know how to stop working | The Gray Area

About this video

Americans have absorbed the Protestant work ethic: the idea that our value as human beings – and our eventual salvation – is determined by how hard we work. Political philosopher Elizabeth Anderson explains how this evolved, why it pervades everything, and why it’s no longer serving us. Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO This episode originally aired in January of 2024. Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling) Guest: Elizabeth Anderson, professor of public philosophy at the University of Michigan. 00:00 Intro 04:21 Why the Protestant work ethic still controls us 12:32 Why do treat wealth as a virtue and poverty as a vice 23:51 When making money becomes the point of life 30:40 Why can’t we have a better work-life balance? 32:35 How workers can reclaim their freedom 36:27 How to build support for a progressive work ethic We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at thegrayarea@vox.com or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show. And you can watch new episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube. Listen to The Gray Area ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com. Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H