Puritan Work Ethic, Capitalism to be Discussed in Konvitz Lecture
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.
“The Puritans actually had important constraints on business models,” Anderson says. "And even if these models were legal, they thought that if they were immoral, they should not be practiced. So, that's the main focus of my talk. The Puritans had, for all their faults, a very shrewd business ethic, and legality wasn't sufficient to justify what people were doing in business. And in particular, they were very concerned about businesses that made their profits by taking advantage of vulnerable and desperate people.”
Anderson, the John Dewey Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy and Women’s & Gender Studies at the University of Michigan, draws on lessons from Puritan business ethicists for problematic business models such as private equity. She also considers how professional and social services work can be improved in ways that enhance the lives of workers and service recipients alike, realizing an ideal of fulfilling work that can be traced to the Puritans.
“I absolutely love addressing audiences of people who aren't philosophers,” Anderson says. “A lot of my work is very interdisciplinary, so I’m very excited to be talking to the audience at ILR.”
The annual Konvitz Lecture is named in honor of the late Professor Milton Konvitz, an ILR School founder.
In a popular course called "American Ideals," Konvitz taught students from across the university about the U.S. Constitution. A leading authority on constitutional and labor law, and civil and human rights, Konvitz was a professor at ILR and Cornell Law School from 1946 until retiring in 1973.
The lecture was founded in 2006 by Joan Jacobs '54 and Irwin Jacobs '56. Joan Jacobs graduated from the College of Human Ecology. Irwin Jacobs graduated from Cornell with a degree in electrical engineering.
The couple, from San Diego, Calif., continues to sponsor the event.