Do we really need to work so hard?
6/1/202642 min
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.This episode originally aired in January of 2024. Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)Guest: Elizabeth Anderson, professor of public philosophy at the University of Michigan. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:01
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Speaker 20:33
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Sean Illing· Host1:06
Hey, it's Sean. Today we're bringing back a conversation that feels more relevant than when we first aired it. It's with the philosopher Elizabeth Anderson about work, morality, and the strange hold the Protestant work ethic has on American life, that has always had on American life. And the episode really takes