Elizabeth Anderson, who specializes in moral, social and political philosophy, feminist theory, social epistemology and the philosophy of economics and the social sciences, will deliver this year’s Konvitz Lecture on March 27. 

“21st-Century Business Models and the Protestant Work Ethic" begins at 4:30 p.m. in 423 King-Shaw Hall. The public is invited to attend in person or by Zoom. Register here for the Zoom. 

“I published a book – Hijacked: How Neoliberalism Turned the Work Ethic against Workers and How Workers Can Take It Back – in September 2023, and I do discuss some of the issues, but this [lecture] is a further development of some ideas in my book,” Anderson says. “It's an area of continuing interest of mine to think about business ethics in the context of the work ethic and what its implications are.” 

According to Anderson, current profit-maximizing business models seem to draw from Protestant work ethic ideals that relentlessly focus on productive efficiency. She points to Max Weber’s thesis, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,” written in the early 1900s, as the driving force behind these ideals.  

“It is really the pivotal work that has defined everyone's understanding of the Protestant work ethic,” Anderson says. “It was an extremely influential work in which Weber argued that the English Puritan work ethic basically powered the spirit of capitalism, and that’s why capitalism started and launched first and most successfully in northern Europe and wasn't as vigorous in the Catholic-controlled areas of Europe.”

However, Anderson has studied Puritan doctrines and argues that the Puritan inventors of the work ethic also stressed the importance of avoiding business models that depend on relating to others in unjust ways, such as taking advantage of the vulnerable, tyrannizing workers, breaching trust with the community and making money in ways that do little good for others.

Read the full story on the ILR website. 
Julie Greco is a senior communications specialist at the ILR School.