I apologize in advance for the length of this blog! Apparently, I had a lot to say:)
Although capitalism seems to be somewhat of a God-given truth these days, and many are in a rat race to make more and more money, but becoming more and more drained…it doesn’t have to be like this! I have been lucky enough to see it for myself, and to have a wonderful father, who has always encouraged me to do what I love, money aside.
There was an instance in Weber that reminded me of something my dad brings up a lot. As an engineer, he has had the opportunity to live and work in Germany, Weber’s homeland (I too have lived there on two different occasions). One thing we noticed were some major differences in mentalité in the United States and Germany. When Weber describes modern capitalism, he mentions “the summum bonum of this ethic, the earning of more and more money, combined with the strict avoidance of all spontaneous enjoyment of life, is above all completely devoid of any eudaemonistic, not to say hedonistic, admixture” (Weber 18). This loss of enjoyment and free time in the US is a bit of a contrast to Germany, even today. For instance, many Germans get about six weeks of vacation a year. Lots of stores, especially in southern Germany and in small towns, will actually close for an hour or two around lunchtime for “Mittagsschlaf”, a midday nap! People drop their work for an hour or so, to get some much-needed rest. So my dad’s question was, how is it that Germany is one of the most productive countries in the world, yet they can still have these privileges, yet here in the United States, most places don’t have naptime, and one is lucky to get two, maybe three weeks of vacation a year? Why can’t “we” be more like “them”?!? One possibility lies in Weber: “The old leisurely and comfortable attitude toward life gave way to a hard frugality in which some participated and came to the top, because they did not wish to consume but to ear, while others who wished to keep on with the old ways were forced to curtail their consumption” (30). I realize that there are exceptions, but generally, there is a very different mentality between these two countries. Germans know how to enjoy life, and there is a lot we can learn from them!
This leads to the larger issue of moneymaking in general, something that I struggle with. There is an expectation to go out in the world and make money (even if you don’t like your job )so you can live comfortably. But what about doing what you love? A lot of people wonder why I am staying in university for four years, when I could have finished in three. I should be out there ASAP, so I can get started in the “real world” and work at a “real job” and make money, right? Wrong. I stayed in school longer so I could study abroad, and so I could get another major. Were these necessary? No. Could I have saved a lot of money? Yes. But I think that Weber and the traditionalists would agree: “That anyone should be able to make it the sole purpose of his life-work, to sink into the grave weighed down with a great material load of money and goods, seems to him explicable only as the product of a perverse instinct, the auri sacr fames” (33). Material isn’t everything!
My sentiments can be summed up best by one of the best American writers, Henry David Thoreau, who interestingly died right around the time when Weber was born. “I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived.” The way I see it, there is no point becoming obsessed with making money, and getting to the end of your life, only to realize that you never really lived.
Part of what I wrote about in my post is sort of related to this- so many people, especially Americans, have a mentality that you have to make as much possible, and they think that that means working as many hours as possible. My mom, for example, usually works 12 hour days for a week in order to get ready for a vacation. But clearly this isn't the most sucsessful model, as Germany is a more productive country. I guess that being a little happier and more relaxed pays off in more ways than one!
ReplyDeleteI've always heard stories about how the Europeans think we're incredibly crazy for our intense work ethic. My Italian class this semester has given me a greater perspective of this. We just finished reading Collodi's "Pinocchio," which was written around the time when Italy as a country was formed. The whole moral of the story is good people work hard and bad people do nothing and laze about. It was surprising to me to see how work-focused this fairy tale was, especially as Italy is known for being laid-back. They too have a "Mittagsschlaf," which they call a "riposo" (which is becoming less common with the "Americanization" of Italy). It's interesting that while working hard has still been a part of Italian culture, the idea of taking a break and relaxing is very important.
ReplyDeleteSorry the for such a long comment, but I also wanted to mention that I totally agree with you about graduating in four years instead of three. I have a friend who's taken two summers of classes just so he can graduate early to "save money." He actually might be graduating from grad school at the same time some of my friends graduate as undergrads! However, he's incredibly stressed out 24/7 and is not enjoying school. I think slowing down and enjoying life is more important than rushing through school, and your quote from Thoreau expresses that wonderfully.