I disagree in part, especially if you mean this as an exclusive cause. The Northern European cultures have a stronger work ethic, yet they are more secular overall than Americans. Domestically, there are very religious communities that have that ethic, and there are very religious communities that do not. Jeff touches on this in his comment - it's not the religiosity, it's values that are taught, whether via religion or apart from it. My personal experience had nothing to do with religion, even though I was raised Greek Orthodox. I learned the ethic of a "job well done," as I mentioned in my reply to Jeff, by doing, in jr high and high school, which stood apart from my religious upbringing or education.
I hesitate to boil it down to cliche, but there is some truth to "good times breed soft men."
It was Charles Murray who proclaimed the four fundamental human values (source of happiness) of faith, family, vocation and community. I think it's inarguable that all four institutions (I'd add education as a fifth) have been under assault for a long time.
You ably cite a number of means by which vocation is being assaulted, but I believe these values are interdependent, and undermining one value undermines them all. The shift has gone from "what I can contribute" to my church, my community, my work (company, team) and family - to "what I can get" from these institutions. We've inculcated dependency across the whole range of human happiness. Poor labor force participation rates, from this perspective, is just a symptom.
Those of us who still "believe" in these fundamentals of human happiness are derided as "traditionalists" but I would counter with - what's the alternative for finding joy in life? To eat from a handout? To have shelter given to me? To me, true joy is only found through hard work, striving and earning my place in the family, the community or at work, and I can't fathom an alternative to this model. Fundamentally, my faith tells me that to be able-bodied and parasitic in these areas is wrong and that my life has no value. If I can contribute, then I must. And for those too old or too sick - I am compelled to provide while I am able. Is that such a horrible model for happiness?
Political philosophers throughout history have postulated that societies and their governments have a finite life, i.e. the time when the populace realizes and acts upon the notion that it can vote itself Other People's Money.
Doing so demonstrably produces unhealthy societies.
Penn Jillette once said "I've never been proud of something that was easy," and I'm sure countless others have stated similar observations. Personally, my greatest times of satisfaction are "job well done" occurrences, and I found my happy place in high school wood shop. There, our teacher, Mr. Vey, had motivational signs (done up in calligraphy, which he also taught), that read such as "Good enough is not good enough. Make it perfect." and "Good, better, best, never let it rest, until good is better and better is best."
Of course, it's St. Jerome who stated the latter, but my brain inevitably and invariably goes back to Mr. Vey and the satisfaction of building something of quality with my hands.
Sadly, when he retired, the school discontinued wood shop.
I think that the abandonment of "manual" education in jr high and high school, and its relegation to only those who decide to go the trades route, is a tragedy. Boys, especially, should know how to work with their hands.
There used to be a "Protestant work ethic," one that you don't have to be a Protestant to embrace: To be left alone in one's toil.
I also recall an episode of the TV show Good Times, when the father found out he didn't get a job he was counting on, meaning the family would have to go on welfare. It broke his spirit - the notion of not being able to care for his family. Think such a message would play on TV today?
How much weight would you put on the rise of the welfare state?
"loss of religious indoctrination"
I disagree in part, especially if you mean this as an exclusive cause. The Northern European cultures have a stronger work ethic, yet they are more secular overall than Americans. Domestically, there are very religious communities that have that ethic, and there are very religious communities that do not. Jeff touches on this in his comment - it's not the religiosity, it's values that are taught, whether via religion or apart from it. My personal experience had nothing to do with religion, even though I was raised Greek Orthodox. I learned the ethic of a "job well done," as I mentioned in my reply to Jeff, by doing, in jr high and high school, which stood apart from my religious upbringing or education.
I hesitate to boil it down to cliche, but there is some truth to "good times breed soft men."
What do you see as the relation between the points you proffer and the decline of work ethic across the past 70 years?
It was Charles Murray who proclaimed the four fundamental human values (source of happiness) of faith, family, vocation and community. I think it's inarguable that all four institutions (I'd add education as a fifth) have been under assault for a long time.
You ably cite a number of means by which vocation is being assaulted, but I believe these values are interdependent, and undermining one value undermines them all. The shift has gone from "what I can contribute" to my church, my community, my work (company, team) and family - to "what I can get" from these institutions. We've inculcated dependency across the whole range of human happiness. Poor labor force participation rates, from this perspective, is just a symptom.
Those of us who still "believe" in these fundamentals of human happiness are derided as "traditionalists" but I would counter with - what's the alternative for finding joy in life? To eat from a handout? To have shelter given to me? To me, true joy is only found through hard work, striving and earning my place in the family, the community or at work, and I can't fathom an alternative to this model. Fundamentally, my faith tells me that to be able-bodied and parasitic in these areas is wrong and that my life has no value. If I can contribute, then I must. And for those too old or too sick - I am compelled to provide while I am able. Is that such a horrible model for happiness?
Political philosophers throughout history have postulated that societies and their governments have a finite life, i.e. the time when the populace realizes and acts upon the notion that it can vote itself Other People's Money.
https://www.lorencollins.net/tytler.html
Doing so demonstrably produces unhealthy societies.
Penn Jillette once said "I've never been proud of something that was easy," and I'm sure countless others have stated similar observations. Personally, my greatest times of satisfaction are "job well done" occurrences, and I found my happy place in high school wood shop. There, our teacher, Mr. Vey, had motivational signs (done up in calligraphy, which he also taught), that read such as "Good enough is not good enough. Make it perfect." and "Good, better, best, never let it rest, until good is better and better is best."
Of course, it's St. Jerome who stated the latter, but my brain inevitably and invariably goes back to Mr. Vey and the satisfaction of building something of quality with my hands.
Sadly, when he retired, the school discontinued wood shop.
I think that the abandonment of "manual" education in jr high and high school, and its relegation to only those who decide to go the trades route, is a tragedy. Boys, especially, should know how to work with their hands.
There used to be a "Protestant work ethic," one that you don't have to be a Protestant to embrace: To be left alone in one's toil.
I also recall an episode of the TV show Good Times, when the father found out he didn't get a job he was counting on, meaning the family would have to go on welfare. It broke his spirit - the notion of not being able to care for his family. Think such a message would play on TV today?
Vive la différence!