The Gray Area with Sean Illing

A pro-worker work ethic

Americans have absorbed the “Protestant work ethic” — the idea that our value as human beings is determined by how hard we work and how much money we make. Elizabeth Anderson explains how this evolved, why it pervades everything, and why it sucks.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Elizabeth Anderson, professor of public philosophy at the University of Michigan. 
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This episode was made by: 


Producer: Jon Ehrens 


Engineer: Patrick Boyd


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The Gray Area with Sean Illing takes a philosophy-minded look at culture, technology, politics, and the world of ideas. Each week, we invite a guest to explore a question or topic that matters. From the the state of democracy, to the struggle with depression and anxiety, to the nature of identity in the digital age, each episode looks for nuance and honesty in the most important conversations of our time. New episodes drop every Monday.